THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED. 



THE 



SECOND COMING 
OF CHEIST 



PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED : 



BEING 

LECTURES 

DELIVERED DURING LENT, 1844, 

AT ST. GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY. 

23g Ws&tXte (Elergpun of it)t €imxtff of 55nglanU. 

WITH A PREFACE,^ 

BY THE HON. AND REV. H. MONTAGU VILLIERS, A.M., 

RECTOR OP ST. GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY. 



LONDON: 

JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21, BERNERS STREET ? 

HATCHARD & SON, PICCADILLY; SEELEY, BURNSIDE, AND 
SEELEY, FLEET-STREET; AND HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO., 
PATERNOSTER-ROW. 

M DCCC XLIV. 



MACINTOSH, PRINTER, 
GREAT NEW STREET, LONDON, 



£0 



d 



PREFACE. 



As this is the second course of Sermons which 
has been preached in St. George's Church, it has 
been thought right that I should, as Incumbent 
of that church, prefix a few words by way of 
introduction. I cheerfully comply, though I feel 
that the majority of the preachers are already so 
much better known as students of prophecy than 
myself, that if I were not to state that I make 
these few remarks by request, it might appear 
presumption on my part. 

There is much reason for thankfulness to Al- 
mighty God that this most important part of his 
holy book, " The sure word of prophecy," con- 
tinues to excite increased and increasing attention. 



VI PREFACE. 

The sale of the former volume, the rapid 
demand for the second edition, the attendance on 
this second course of sermons, all prove that a 
lively interest is awakened, and that the Church, 
in all her members, at least, is not unmindful of 
the words of her great Bishop, " Watch, for ye 
know not what hour your Lord doth come." 

That there are dangers connected with the 
study of unfulfilled prophecy no one can deny, 
but what doctrine of Scripture may not be wrested 
to our own destruction ? 

The doctrine of justification by faith only, 
without works, is, as the Eleventh Article of our 
Church affirms, " a most wholesome doctrine, and 
very full of comfort," yet we cannot deny that 
wicked men have perverted this, to the denial of 
holiness being required by the Lord. Nevertheless, 
none but they who love the fundamental principle 
of Popery venture to deny that justification by 
faith is a scriptural doctrine, and therefore the 
doctrine taught by the Church of England ; and 
no one who adheres to God's Word, and can 
confide in his truth, thinks of refusing to receive 



PREFACE. Vli 

the doctrine, because it lias been or may be per- 
verted by the ungodly. Why, then 3 are we to 
act differently in the case of unfulfilled prophecy? 

There maybe wild enthusiasts, there maybe men 
who will make millenarian views essential to 
salvation. There may be an undue excitement 
raised in the minds of others, but surely this is no 
reason against a calm and dispassionate examina- 
tion of the AVord of God, " Comparing spiritual 
things with spiritual.*' On the contrary, if there 
be danger of rash men undertaking the subject 
and thus perilling the soid, it is the greater reason 
why others of less visionary habits, and calmer 
temperaments, should endeavour to set before their 
fellow-Christians, truths which, when properly 
stated, are so calculated to warn the unruly, and 
to cheer the anxious traveller on his road to Zion. 
Such, I trust, will be found to be the case in the 
present course of sermons. They were delivered 
with no rash excitement, they were heard with 
serious attention. Deep and solemn conviction 
seemed to pervade preachers and hearers that 
they were in God's house, endeavouring to under- 



Vlll PREFACE. 

stand God's Word, with a desire humbly to carry 
out God's will. 

I now commit the volume to the press, with 
the humble confidence that the course was under- 
taken with a single eye to God's glory, and the 
earnest Prayer that whatever has been faithfully 
spoken, may be effectually received to the Sal- 
vation of souls, and the Glory of our Triune 
God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

H. MONTAGU VILLIERS. 



Bloomsbury Rectory, 
April, 1844. 



CONTENTS. 



LECTURE I. — p. 1. 

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH AT THE COMING OF 
THE LORD. 

BY THE REV. EDWARD AURIOL, M.A., 

RECTOR OF ST. DUNSTAN'S IN THE WEST, LONDON. 

Ephesians v. part of ver. 25, 26, 27.—" Christ also loved the Church, and gave 
himself for it ; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of 
water by the word. That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, 
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy 
and without blemish." 



LECTURE II— p. 24. 

THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED WHEN THE LORD SHALL 
COME. 

BY THE REV. W. W. PYM, M.A., 

RECTOR OF WILLIAN, HERTS. 

Romans xiv. 10 — 12.- " But why dost thou judge thy brother ? or why dost 
thou set at nought thy brother ? for we shall all stand before the judgment 
seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall 
bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of 
us shall give account of himself to God." 



X 



CONTENTS. 



LECTURE III— p. 45. 

PERSONAL HOLINESS, A PLEDGE OF GLORY AT THE 
APPEARING OF CHRIST. 

BY THE REV. E. HOARE, A.M., 

CURATE OF RICHMOND. 

Ephesians i. 13, 14 " In whom aiso after that ye believed, ye were sealed 

with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance 
until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his 
glory." 



LECTURE IV.— p. 67. 

THE WASHING OF REGENERATION COMPLETED AND CROWNED 
IN THE REGENERATION OF GLORY. 

BY THE REV. T. R. BIRKS, M.A., 

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 

Matthew xix. 28. — " And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that 
ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall 
sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging 
the twelve tribes of Israel." 



LECTURE V.— p. 106. 

THE LORD'S SUPPER AN ASSURANCE AND PLEDGE OF THE 
lord's RETURN. 

BY THE REV. MOURANT BROCK, M.A., 

CHAPLAIN TO THE BATH PENITENTIARY. 



Matthew xxvi. 29.—" But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this 
fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's 
kingdom." 



CONTEXTS. 



XI 



LECTURE VI.— p. 138. 

THE JOT OF THE FAITHFUL MINISTER AT CHRIST'S COMING. 
BY THE REV. T. S. GRIMSHAWE, M. A., 

RECTOR CF BEDDENHAM, BEDS. 

1 Peter v. I.—" When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a 
crown of glory that fadeth not away." 



LECTURE VII. —p. 173. 

THE RE-UNION OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 
BY THE REV. W. MARSH, D.D., 

INCUMBENT OF ST. MARY'S, LEAMINGTON. 

John xvii. 21. — " That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and 
I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that 
thou hast sent me." 



LECTURE VIII.— p. 191. 

THE HOPE OF THE AD TEXT A REMEDY AGAINST 
SUPERSTITION. 

BY THE REV. R. W. DIBDIX, M.A., 

MINISTER OF WEST-STREET EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, ST. GILES'S, LONDON. 

Acts i. 11.—" This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall 
so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." 



LECTURE IX.— p. 211. 

THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 
BY THE REV. J. ELLISOX BATES, M.A., 

OF WATERLOO CROSBT, NEAR LIVERPOOL. 

Hebrews xi. 1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the 

evidence of things not seen." 



Xll 



CONTENTS. 



LECTURE X.— p. 241. 

righteousness and mercy national duties in the 
prospect of Christ's coming and kingdom. 

BY THE REV. E. BICKERSTETH, 

RECTOR Of WATTON, HERTS. 

Daniel iv. 27. — " Wherefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, 
and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing 
mercy to the poor ; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." 



LECTURE XL— p. 301. 

the long expectation of the coming of the lord, 
a pledge of its surpassing glory. 

BY THE REV. B. P H I L P O T, M A., 

RECTOR OF GREAT CRESSINGHAM, SUFFOLK. 

Romans viii. 18 — 23.—" For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time 
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in 
us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifesta- 
tion of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not 
willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 
because the creature itself also shaLl be delivered from the bondage of 
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know 
that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the 
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, 
to wit, the redemption of our body." 



LECTURE XIL— p. 334. 

THE HARMONY BETWEEN THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 
BY THE HON. AND REV. H. MONTAGU VILLIERS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF ST. GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY. 

Luke xxiv. 26 — " Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to 
enter into his glory ? " 



LECTURE I. 



THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH AT THE 
COMING OF THE LORD. 



BY THE REV. EDWARD AURIOL, M.A., 

RECTOR OF ST. DUNSTAN's IN THE WEST, LONDON. 



Ephesians V. part of 25th, 26th, & 27th verses. 

" Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself 
for it ; that he might sanctify and cleanse it 
with the washing of water by the word. That 
he might present it to himself a glorious 
Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any 
such thing; but that it should be holy and 
without blemish" 

We find the subject of the second advent of our 
Lord Jesus Christ continually occurring in the 
Word of God in connexion with practical truths, 
and topics of practical instruction. We are not 
merely told that our blessed Saviour will come in 

B 



2 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

his glory, but this truth is referred to by the 
Divinely inspired writers, as bearing upon the 
temper, the spirit, the duties, and the practice of 
the Christian. The doctrines contained in the 
Scriptures, are for the most part revealed to us in 
the same manner, but the constant allusion which 
is made to the second advent in the writings of 
the apostles, shows the importance which the 
Lord attaches to it, as calculated to animate the 
hopes of the believer, and as unfolding to us 
what are the future blessings which await 
the Church. It is proposed, brethren, in the 
present course of lectures, to draw attention to 
the bearing of this truth on practical subjects 
connected with the Christian life, and it has been 
assigned to me in commencing it, to bring before 
you an anticipation which is truly of a glorious 
character, namely, the Manifestation of the 
Church at the coming of the Lord. 

In investigating the subject of unfulfilled pro- 
phecy, and in attempting to show what events are 
to be expected by the Church, it is most important 
that we should distinguish between that which is 
merely conjectural, and that which is revealed to 
us in the Divine Word ; that we should remember 
the difference between a spirit of vague curiosity, 
or the indulgence of an ingenious imagination on 
the one hand, and a spirit of sober and scriptural 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 



8 



inquiry on the other ; — between the attempt to lay 
down some theory as to future events which we 
think likely to be brought about., and the collect- 
ing from Scripture what is the testimony of God 
as to what his providence has ordained shall come 
to pass. The former is presumptuous and vain, 
and may lead us into many errors ; the latter is 
the duty of every Christian, and an especial 
blessing may be expected in the humble and 
prayerful endeavour to discharge it, in dependance 
upon God's teaching. There are some events, 
such as the second coming of our Lord, which are 
repeatedly stated as certainly to be looked for ; 
but how some of the practical details are to be 
filled up in the bringing about the scheme of his 
providence, and in preparing for his coming ; what 
is to be the exact course of the events which are to 
lead to the fulfilment of all His glorious purposes, or 
how certain parts even of those tilings which are 
declared to us are exactly to be fitted into one 
another, this is not by any means so clearly made 
known, and therefore a spirit of humble teach- 
ableness and of meek forbearance becomes us in 
all these studies : for the great object of God's 
revealed Word is to sanctify his people ; and these 
blessed hopes are presented to us, not to afford 
us topics of mere speculation, but to animate us in 
his service, to encourage us in fighting the good 

b 2 



4 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

fight of faith, to quicken us in our apprehension 
of truths to lead us to endure with patience that 
which his wise providence may assign us, and to 
stir up within us all those holy and godly affections 
which may fit and prepare us for the full enjoy- 
ment of himself. May he graciously grant that 
the subjects now to be brought before us may tend 
to further in us these blessed effects, that they 
may be so treated as to open more fully to our 
view what good things the Lord hath prepared for 
them that love him, and awaken in us that spirit 
of lively faith, of purifying hope, and of holy 
diligence, which may cause us to be truly amongst 
those who, when our Lord shall come, shall be 
ready to open to him immediately. 

I purpose, brethren, to endeavour to show, 

I. What is comprehended in the expression, 
" The Church," which is to be manifested. 

II. What is implied in this manifestation. 

III. The time when this manifestation shall 
take place. 

I. What is meant by the Church ? And here 
we may well take up the language of the Psalmist 
and say, ec Glorious things are spoken of thee, 
thou city of God ! 99 The Church is represented 
in my text, as in many other passages of Scripture, 
as the Spouse of Christ, — united to him ; one 
with him, by a bond never to be dissolved, the 



AT THE COMING OP THE LORD. 



5 



obj ect of his tender est love, of his most watchful 
care, for whom he has engaged to provide through 
Eternity; as his bride, a sharer of his triumphs, a 
partaker of his glory. The Church thus viewed \ 
consists of the whole body of the faithful, even j 
from the beginning of time ; it is composed of all ' 
those who have been given to Christ by the Father 
from eternity ; for it is of the whole body of that 
Church that he speaks when he says, " This is the 
Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which 
he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but 
should raise it up again at the last day." And, 
(( This is the will of him that sent me, that every 
one that seeth the Son and telieveth on him, may 
have everlasting life : and I will raise him up at 
the last day." And again, u Xo man can come to 
me, except the Father which hath sent me draw 
him : and I will raise him up at the last day" 
( Johnvi. 39,40,44.) It comprises all those for whom 
in an especial manner Christ gave himself. Although 
the full sufficiency of the satisfaction of the atone- 
ment of Christ for the sins of the whole world, is, as we 
think, plainly declared in the Scriptures ; though 
we believe that the invitations of the Gospel 
are to be addressed to " every creature," that all 
are to be invited as sinners to receive its blessings 
by believing on the Son of God unto eternal life, 
yet there is a peculiar sense in which he is revealed 
to us as having " purchased to himself his Church 



6 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 



with his own blood/' as having " laid down his 
life for the sheep ; " and the Church comprehends 
all those whom he loved from the beginning, not 
because he saw any tiring good in them, for that 
they were polluted, and defiled, and unclean, is 
clear from the fact stated, that he gave himself 
for them, " to cleanse 99 them, " to purify" " to 
sanctify" them. They owe to him all that has 
been provided for their salvation, for they were 
" chosen in him before the foundation of the 
world, that they might be holy and without blame 
before him ; 99 and the passage which we are 
considering, declares that he gave himself for 
them, that this end for which they were chosen in 
him, might be accomplished, My text leads us 
also to view the Church as comprehending all who 
have been brought, or are now being brought, or 
who are still to be brought, to God through his 
blessing on the means of grace ; " that he might 
sanctify it with the washing of water by the Word;" 
— not merely with the loashing of ivater is its purity 
effected, but with the washing of tvater by the 
Word ; when through the Word of truth, received 
by faith, his people are "begotten again that 
they may be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures," 
and, " created in Christ Jesus unto good works," 
they show forth the power of his grace, and prove 
themselves his by bringing forth fruit unto holiness. 
We are told besides, that it is he himself who 



AT THE COMING- OF THE LORD. 



7 



applies the Word for this purpose ; that " he might 
sanctify and cleanse it with tlie washing of water 
by the "Word ; " and thus taught of him, thus led 
to believe on hirn 3 and thus made clean by the 
Word which he hath spoken, numbers are now in 
this preparatory state being added to the Church 
daily of such as shall be sayed, — such as shall then 
be found truly to be of those whose manifestation 
at the day of Christ it is our present object 
specially to consider. 

II. We proceed then, secondly, to the con- 
sideration of the nature of that manifestation. 
My text brings it before us as Christ presenting to 
himself Iris Church, u not having spot or wrinkle, 
or any such thing, but holy and without blemish." 

1. It will be glorious in its completeness. Never 
before shall the whole Chinch have been seen 
together — then he will have accomplished the 
number of Iris elect ; then shall be assembled 
those who by the workings of God's grace have at 
different times been fashioned and prepared as 
members of his body, all will have sc come in the 
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure 
of the stature of the fulness of Christ ;" and the 
Church shall " look forth as the morning, fair as 
the moon, clear as the sun, terrible as an army 
with banners." That prayer will be answered 



8 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

which, our Lord offered up just before he was 
crucified, " Neither pray I for these alone, but for 
them also which shall believe through their word ; 
that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in 
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in 
us : that the world may believe that thou hast 
sent me. And the glory which thou gavest 
me I have given them ; that they may be one, 
even as we are one : I in them, and thou in me, 
that they may be made perfect in one ; and that 
the world may know that thou hast sent me, and 
hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." (John 
xvii. 20 — 23.) Then shall be brought about that 
complete unity, not merely in spirit and in heart, 
but in every thing which can be imagined to con- 
stitute the perfect uniformity which has so long 
been desired by the Church during her time of 
conflict. Not one of the Lord's people will be 
wanting, all who have " washed their robes and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb " will 
be there ; centuries may have separated between 
some of the members of that body, but then the 
glory of the Church will be that it is united and 
complete. The saints who lived before the flood 
will be manifested, for it w r as for their comfort that 
Enoch prophesied of "the Lord's coming with ten 
thousand of his saints." The patriarchs, who lived 
in a later age, will have the desire of their souls 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 



9 



fulfilled, and they shall not be disappointed, of 
whom St. Paul says, that " they looked for a city 
which hath foundations ;" that they would not 
accept " deliverance that they might obtain a better 
resurrection," and concerning whom he declares 
that " God hath prepared for them a city," and yet 
assures us that they " received not the promises ; 
God having provided some better thing for us, 
that they without us should not be made perfect." 
(Heb. xi. 39 — 10.) The prophets will be there, 
for it is of one of them we are expressly told, that 
" he shall stand in his lot at the end of the days n 
(Dan. xii. 13) ; and millions of those whom the 
Lord has known and sealed as his, but who have 
passed through the world unknown to nearly all 
besides, will be partakers of that glory. Those 
who are alive and remain, though they will not 
prevent them that are asleep, shall come forth with 
them to hail the bridegroom when he claims his 
bride, and will thus swell the numbers of his 
glorified ones, and though the flock has ever been 
a little one through the successive periods of its 
sojourn in the wilderness, the Church will at last 
be glorious both in its numbers and in its unity : 
" Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and 
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before 
him." 

2. The Church will be glorious in its character. 
b3 



10 THE MANIFESTATION OE THE CHURCH 

u He shall present it to himself a glorious Church, 
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but 
it shall be holy and without blemish." It will be free 
from all imperfections. There will be no spot of 
false doctrine or erroneous opinion or mistaken 
notion, puffing up with pride , rankling with self- 
conceit, or working injuriously in the minds of any 
of those who shall then meet round the throne : 
there will be no spot of impurity of imagination, 
of earthly defilement, or of contaminating influ- 
ence remaining in one of those who shall make up 
that blessed company ; there will be none of those 
u spots 99 of which the Apostle Jude speaks when 
he says, of false and unworthy professors, " these 
are spots in your feasts of charity when they feast 
with you ;" for at the marriage supper of the 
Lamb there can be no place for such ; there can 
be no place for any who are not clothed in the 
pure robe of their Redeemer's completed right- 
eousness, and who are not beautified by the 
garment of his then perfected salvation. The 
Church shall be without wrinkle or blemish or 
anything that can lead to such ; then shall be 
removed from her for ever, all that could by possi- 
bility raise on her bright and happy countenance 
a wrinkle of sorrow, or a symptom of decay; there 
will be no danger then of her being like the Church 
at Ephesus > when it had " lost its first love," 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 



11 



for all her affections will be everlastingly engaged 
in devotecbiess to him with whom she is made for 
ever one, and the truth of that saying will be felt 
with a force, and displayed in a manner utterly 
beyond the utmost stretch of our present compre- 
hension to conceive ; " TTe are members of his 
body, of his flesh, and of his bones." (Eph. v. 30.) 

3. For once more, the Church will be glorious in 
complete conformity to the likeness of her Lord, 
as well as in the perfect enjoyment of him. It is 
thus that St. John presents to us the hope of the 
Church: " TTe shall be like him, for we shall see 
him as he is." To be spotless, to be blameless, to 
be pure, this is truly to be like the Lord Jesus, 
like him who was " holy, harmless, undeflled, and 
separate from sinners." As the Psalmist expresses 
it, " When I awake up after thy likeness I shall 
be satisfied with it." Consider, brethren, how 
glorious this is ! like her Lord in all respects ; like 
him in spirit, in temper, and in mind, purified 
even as he is pine ; like him in outward appear- 
ance, each member clothed with that body which 
is from heaven, for " He shall change our vile 
body that it may be like unto his glorious body, 
according to the working whereby he is able to 
subdue all things unto himself." (Phil. iii. 21.) 
This will constitute the perfect consummation and 
bliss of the Church both in body and souL 



12 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

III. We are next to consider the time when 
this shall take place. It shall be at the coming of 
the Lord, This is apparent from many plain 
passages of Scripture. It is declared, for instance, 
in the Epistle to the Colossians, that "When 
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall 
ye also appear with him in glory." (Col. iii. 4.) It 
is stated by St. J ohn, in that passage already referred 
to, that " When he shall appear we shall be like him, 
for we shall see him as he is." (1 John iii. 2.) The 
manner in which this shall take place is detailed to 
us in the Epistle to the Thessalonians ; " The 
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 
the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall 
rise first: then we which are alive and remain 
shall be caught up together with them in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall 
we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess. iv. 16, 17.) 
These statements positively and distinctly mark 
the time of the manifestation of the Church to be 
at the coming of the Lord ; but there are others 
also from which the same truth may be no less 
certainly gathered. As for instance ; in the pa- 
rable of the wheat and the tares, we read, " So 
shall it be in the end of this world," or dispensation 
(atcovos). " The Son of Man shall send forth his 
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 13 

all things that offend, and them which do iniquity ; 
and shall cast them into a furnace of fire : then 
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then 
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the 
kingdom of their Father." (Matt. xiii. 41 — 43.) 
In the close of the Epistle of Jude, we meet with 
the expression, " He is able to keep you from 
falling, and to present you faultless before the 
presence of his glory, with exceeding joy" 
( Jude 24) ; evidently referring to the glorious state 
of the Church represented in my text, when the 
Lord shall present her to himself as his wife. Now 
there are several passages which speak of this act, 
as to take place at his second coming in his glory. 
Thus in the nineteenth chapter of Kevelations, 
immediately after the destruction of Babylon, 
and directly preceding the account of the first 
resurrection, the apostle is permitted to behold the 
glory of the Lord in his Church, under the same 
figure. " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give 
honour to him : for the marriage of the Lamb is 
come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And 
to her was granted that she should be arrayed in 
fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is 
the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto 
me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto 
the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith 
unto me, These are the true sayings of God." 



14 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

(Rev. xix. 7 — 9.) In those chapters too in the 
Gospels, where he speaks of his coming under the 
figure of a bridegroom, the time when this mani- 
festation will take place seems to be established. 
Whenever, therefore, the Lord shall come, then 
this glorious anticipation shall be fulfilled, and not 
before. Now we might take it for granted, that it 
has been proved in our former course of lectures, 
that the coming of Christ will be pre-millennial, 
that it is an event to be speedily expected, and 
that it will, as we are taught, find the world in a 
state of general unpreparedness, as it was with 
the people of old in the days of Noe ; and that 
" there will be mockers at the last day, saying, 
Where is the promise of his coming ?" (Matthew 
xxiv. 28 ; 2 Peter iii. 4.) But there are other 
passages of Scripture relating to the glorious 
manifestation of the Church which confirm much 
the view of the personal coming of Christ, as 
preceding and bringing in the millennium. For 
instance, we know that Enoch is declared to have 
prophesied of " The coming of the Lord, with 
ten thousand of his saints ; " but then if we com- 
pare with this prophecy, one which we find in 
Zechariah, we meet with nearly a similar state- 
ment ; " The Lord thy God shall come, and all his 
saints with thee ; 55 but this coming of the Lord 
with his saints is here associated with events, 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 



15 



which are quite inconsistent with, the idea of 
millennial tranquillity and blessedness, and which 
it would appear from other Scriptures will imme- 
diately precede the reign of righteousness, for i: when 
the nations shall be gathered together against 
Jerusalem to battle/' " Then the Lord shall go 
forth and fight against those nations, as when he 
fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall 
stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives^ which 
is before Jerusalem on the east." (Zechariah 
xiy. 3, 4.) If we are to believe that Christ's 
coming with his saints is literally to take place 3 
what reason have we to suppose that his standing 
on Mount Olivet is to be taken otherwise than 
literally ; and if so these events occur at the same 
time. And this view of the matter is yet more 
fully confirmed, by the statements of Scripture 
with regard to other events connected with that 
period. He shall come we are told to take " ven- 
geance on them that know not God, and that obey 
not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
(2 Thess. i. 7 — 9.) " He shall break them with 
a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a 
potter's vessel." (Psahn ii. 9.) But, he says, 
" He that overconreth and keepeth my works unto 
the end, to him will I give power over the nations, 
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron : as the 
vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, 



16 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

even as I have received of my Father." (Rev. 
ii. 26, 27.) Again, there are passages which speak 
m>t only of the overthrow of the wicked, but of 
the establishment of the reign of righteousness on 
the earth in connexion with the resurrection and 
the manifestation of the saints. The groaning of 
the whole creation and its subjection to vanity, will 
last ^7/ the manifestation of the sons of God ; which 
is further explained to mean, " The adoption, to wit, 
the redemption of our body." (Rom. viii. 22, 23.) 
And compare this with those places where mention 
is made of the removal of the curse from the face of 
the earth during the period of the millennium, 
and surely it will be apparent that the resurrection 
glory must precede it. (See Isaiah xi. 4 — 9 ; 
lxv. 17 — 25. Ezekiel xxxiv. 25, 27.) So in the 
twenty-fifth of Isaiah, we meet with this state- 
ment : "In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts 
make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast 
of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, 
of wines on the lees well refined. And he will 
destroy in this mountain the face of the covering 
cast over all people, and the vail that is spread 
over all nations." (Isaiah xxv. 6 — 8.) This doubt- 
less points to the time when " the vail shall be taken 
away from the Jews," and when their " fulness " shall 
be, indeed, " the riches of the Gentiles," and " the 
knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 



IT 



the waters cover the sea ; " but immediately con- 
nected with this is a declaration of triumph over 
death and the grave ; tc He will swallow up death 
in victory/ 5 — a prophecy which St. Paul tells us, 
shall be fulfilled when " the trumpet shall sound, 
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we 
shall be changed " (1 Cor. xv. 52) ; an event, 
therefore, shown to synchronize exactly with the 
glorious spread of the light of God's truth, for 
the blessedness of the nations. Then if we refer 
to the statements in Scripture of the employments 
of the risen saints, we have another proof that the 
time of this manifestation of the Church will be 
at the coming of the Lord. Thus we find it 
declared by our Saviour, for the encouragement of 
his disciples in their devotion to him ; " Verily I 
say unto you, That ye which have followed me ; in 
the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in 
the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 
(Matthew xix. 28.) And St. Paul asks the ques- 
tion of the Corinthians, as though he spoke to 
them of that which was a truth generally received 
among them : " Do ye not know that the saints 
shall judge the world? 5 ' (1 Cor. vi. 2.) Not 
only the apostles, but the saints, all believers, as 
appears from the context; the meaning of which 
passages is fully illustrated by the expression 



18 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

occurring in the new song of the four beasts and 
the four and twenty elders before the throne ; 
" Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open 
the seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast 
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every 
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and 
hast made us unto our God kings and priests : 
and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. v. 9, 10.) 
We do not attempt to offer any conjecture as to 
the nature of the offices to be performed by the 
risen and glorified saints, who shall reign with 
their Lord, as we are taught in the twentieth 
chapter of Revelations, u a thousandyears we know 
that they will have bodies like unto his glorious 
body, and the appearance on the Mount of Trans- 
figuration, as also that of our Lord to his disciples 
after his resurrection, proves that they may be 
made visible and tangible to men in the flesh. 
But it is not our wish, for it is neither necessary 
nor profitable for us, to enter into any speculation on 
the subject which might lead us one degree beyond 
what is clearly revealed; all that we desire to do in 
bringing forward these proofs that the time of the 
manifestation of the Church will be at the coming 
of the Lord, and the commencement of the reign 
of righteousness, is to show that we are adopting no 
fanciful interpretation of Scripture, but the plain 
and simple one ; that we are not indulging in any 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD, 



19 



mere imaginative scheme, but setting forth that 
which appears to be distinctly revealed. And if 
the events connected with the subject are so 
glorious, that they are far beyond our powers of 
conception to realize, this should be no reason why 
we should not believe and expect them. On the 
contrary, we are told that " it does not yet appear 
what we shall be/' Whilst at the same time, as a 
matter of practical experience, what a tenfold 
interest does this view of the subject give to us, 
in all those promises of triumph over the enemies 
of Christ, and of the glorious establishment of his 
truth which are to be fulfilled; since we are here 
taught, not that these things may take place years 
or centuries after we have passed from that world 
in which they will all be transacted, but that 
assuredly, if we are Christ's, savingly united to 
him, we shall be witnesses ourselves of his 
triumph, and with risen and glorified bodies have 
a part in the blessed reign over the nations. c( To 
him that overcometh," he says, " will I give to sit 
with me in my throne, even as I overcame, and 
am set down with my Father in his throne.' 9 
(Rev. iii. 21.) 

This leads us then to conclude the subject with 
a few brief practical remarks, as pointing out the 
instruction winch it is calculated to convey to us. 
In the first place, an anticipation of this glory 



20 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

wonderfully raises our sense of the obligation 
which we owe to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is 
much for us to be enabled to see pardon, peace, 
safety, sanctification to be ours for his sake ; but 
when we can in any degree realize that " Christ 
is in us the hope of glory/' and that we shall so 
share in what is revealed to us of his glory, " that 
the world may know that the Father has loved us 
even as he loved Christ," what effect ought such 
a hope as this to have upon our souls ! If we be 
indeed living members of that Church which is 
the Lamb's wife, how full of love, how full of 
tenderness, how full of earnest longing ought to 
be our expectation of him ! 

Secondly, How encouraging should this be to the 
fainting, weary, tried servants of God. The great 
object of hope set before us is the total destruction 
of the body of this death under which the believer 
now groans — the possession in all its fulness of the 
glorious liberty of the sons of God. We cannot 
imagine a greater contrast than that which shall 
be exhibited in this glorious manifestation, com- 
pared with the present state of many of the Lord's 
children, but in reality it is not nearly so great as 
that which is exhibited in the history of our 
blessed Lord himself. Behold him a helpless 
infant, the despised Nazarene, the man of sorrows, 
the weary, fainting wanderer, the scorn and deri- 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 21 

sion of an ungodly people, dying as a condemned 
criminal^ his body enclosed in the dark tomb; and 
yet, whilst all this was being enacted, his was the 
hidden glory of that " Holy One," " whose 
goings forth have been from everlasting it was 
the spotless Lamb of God whose innocence was 
maligned — the Lord of life and glory whom they 
shrouded in the grave. No depth of humiliation 
to which the servants of Christ can be exposed, 
no lengthened period of suffering, no agonies 
under which blessed martyrs have died — no extent 
of persecution which may yet be in store for the 
Church, can ever equal such a contrast as this; and 
may not the recollection of it, together with the 
prophetic warning of our Lord, " Remember the 
word that I said unto you, The servant is not 
greater than his lord," and " If the world hate 
you, ye know that it hated me before it hated 
you," support the Church under her severest 
conflicts, leading her to the blessed assurance, " If 
we suffer with him we shall be also glorified 
together." 

Lastly, as affecting the preparation of his people. 
There is one remarkably expressive figure in refer- 
ence to this subject in the book of Malachi, " In 
that day will the Lord make up his jewels." The 
precious stones which are taken from the bowels 
of the earth are fit emblems of the people of God, 



22 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE CHURCH 

then to be brought forth ; composed of the common 
materials of the flint and sand and clay which 
we see around us, they owe all their beauty and 
value to that secret transformation effected beneath 
the surface of the earth, which art has tried in vain 
to imitate, and which so fits them for their bright 
destiny, that when at length the mine is visited, 
and the sun shines upon them in his strength, the 
light streams from them with a brilliancy and 
splendour which dazzles and delights the eye, 
and which cannot be mistaken, so that they are 
owned at once as fitting ornaments of a monarch's 
crown. Oh ! brethren, this is like the work that 
is carrying on now in preparation for the great 
day ; the hidden secret operation of the Holy 
Spirit in the hearts of his people. By nature the 
children of wrath even as others, he forms in them 
that new creation which may fit them to be " a 
crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, a royal 
diadem in the hand of our God." When the Sun 
of Righteousness shall arise upon them, then shall 
the true character of that Divine work be recog- 
nised, in all its distinguishing, in all its surpassing 
brightness, — " then shall ye discern between the 
righteous and the wicked, between him that 
serveth God, and him that serveth him not:" 
" they shall be as the stones of a crown:" then 
shall the hidden source of their light and glory, 



AT THE COMING OF THE LORD. 



23 



even God their Saviour, be fully and everlastingly 
revealed. 

Brethren, if this be so, see, I beseech you, that 
this -work be really, effectually carried on in 
your hearts. Let all w^hich we have been con- 
sidering of the future blessedness of those whom 
God hath chosen to salvation in Christ, whom he 
is preparing now for this glory, constrain you to 
choose this blessed portion, to seek it as " The 
one thing needful," to adopt as your own the 
touching earnest prayer of the Psalmist to a faithful 
prayer-hearing God, " Remember me, O Lord, 
with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people ; 
O ! visit me with thy salvation, that /may see the 
good of thy chosen, that / may rejoice in the 
gladness of thy nation, that /may glory with thine 
inheritance." (Psalm cvi. 4, 5.) 



LECTURE II. 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED WHEN THE 
LORD SHALL COME. 



BY THE REV. W. W. PYM, M.A., 

RECTOR OF WILLIAN, HERTS. 

[The reference to specific Scripture dates, upon which the 
proof of some of the conclusions in the following sermon is 
dependent, has been designedly omitted at the suggestion of 
one, to whose wishes, under the circumstances of the case, every 
deference is due : which fact, let it be remembered, occasions 
some curtailment of the sermon (p. 33 — 35), and renders the 
proof of a part of the doctrine in some respects incomplete. 
(P. 34, 41.)— W. W. P.] 



Romans XIV. 10—12. 
" But why dost thou judge thy brother ? or why 
dost thou set at nought thy brother ? for ive shall 
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, 
every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue 
shall confess to God. So then every one of us 
shall give account of himself to God" 

The subject contained in this passage of St. Paul's 
Epistle to the Romans, is that which has been 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED, &C. 25 



appointed for our meditation this night, a subject 
of chief importance to the whole Church of God, 
and therefore, I doubt not, deeply important to 
many in this congregation. 

The account to he rendered when the Lord shall 
come. 

In order rightly to understand it. I shall make 
the three following inquiries, and endeavour to 
furnish a scriptural reply to each. 

I. Wliat manner of persons shall then render 
their account to God? 

II. What period of time zcill be occupied by 
that act of judgment ? 

III. What will be the character of the account 
which shall then be rendered,? 

And here in the contemplation of them we 
may feelingly exclaim, Who is sufficient for these 
things ? But, under a sense of this our helpless- 
ness, we may look to him who " ascended up 
far above all heavens " to receive gifts for men. 
Oh ! thou gracious Saviour, hast thou said, " Ask 
and ye shall have, seek and ye shall find, knock 
and it shall be opened unto you ?" Behold, we 
ask, shall we not have ? We seek, shall we not 
find? We knock, shall it not be opened unto 
us ? Shed abroad abundantly in the hearts of all 
this people the grace of thy Holy Spirit ; and give 
a double measure of the same to me, thy weak, 

c 



26 THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 

and most unworthy servant ; and oh, thou teacher 
of babes, teach me, enlighten my darkness, remove 
my ignorance, subdue my unbelief, and enable 
me to speak as the oracles of God, and be thou 
glorified by us with the Father and the Son in 
time, and in all eternity ! 

I. We have proposed to inquire, What manner 
of persons shall then render their account to God ? 

A question has been often raised, whether the 
account of that day be the great assize, in which 
the dead, small and great, shall stand before God, 
the judge of all the earth ? One mode of settling 
this question will be by considering the predicted 
accompaniments of Chrisfs second coming. 

The twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew, and 
the corresponding narrative in the Gospel of St. 
Luke furnish us, from the lips of our blessed 
Lord himself, with many of these particulars. 
Thus, in the former chapter, it is written ; u Im- 
mediately after the tribulation of those days shall 
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give 
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and 
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken : And 
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in 
heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of the earth 
mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming 
in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
glory, And he shall send his angels with a great 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 27 



sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together 
his elect from the four winds, from one end of 
heaven to the other." 

The tribulation here described is that under J 
which God's ancient people have been groaning, 
now for 1800 years, and from which deliverance 
awaits them at the coming of the Lord. The 
circumstances here foretold have been considered, 
by very many expounders of the word, to have 
been fulfilled in the mystic or political heavens 
at the time of the French Revolution. Hence, if 
this be so, and these powers have been so shaken, 
the next event for which we are to look from this 
prophecy, and that which shall immediately pre- 
cede the coining of the Lord, must be " the sign 
of the Son of man in heaven" Some difficulty has 
been found in ascertaining what is meant by this 
sign. The most approved explanation of it I 
consider to be this ; that it will be that glory which 
shall surround the Lord when he first appears in 
our heavens, accompanied by his shining hosts, 
the forerunner of his actual revelation, which 
shall cause all the tribes of the earth to mourn, 
being to them the beginning of sorrows ; and, 
when this preceding sign shall have appeared, 
" then shall they see the Son of man coining in 
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.' 5 
Here observe how this harmonizes with what 

c 2 



28 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 



the angels told those men of Galilee, who, with 
uplifted eyes had been watching their risen Lord 
in his glorious transit through the air, when " he 
ascended up on high, led captivity captive, and 
received gifts for men. 55 " A cloud received him 
out of their sight.' 5 " Ye men of Galilee, why 
stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same 
Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, 
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him 
go into heaven. 55 (Acts i.*ll.) 

The next revealed event of which we read is 
The First Resurrection. For the particulars of 
this wondrous scene we are indebted to the special 
revelations of the Lord. Thus, when St. Paul 
writes concerning it he says, " For as in Adam all 
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 
But every man in his own order : Christ the first- 
fruits ; afterward they that are Christ 5 s at his 
coming. 55 (1 Cor. xv. 22, 23.) See here one 
characteristic feature of our God in all his works. 
Nothing of confusion, nothing of disorder. Where 
he acts the most perfect harmony is found, and 
the most complete order. In all the divine ope- 
rations he leaves behind him, as it were, his 
own footprints, which tell where God has been. 
But, if anything of an opposite character have 
found its way into those works, upon which, when 
the Almighty operator looked, he pronounced 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 29 

them " very good/' it must be set down, not 
to his account, but to the account of sin, which 
marred his beauteous work, and brought con- 
fusion into the moral as well as the natural part 
of his operations. When we hear of a resur- 
rection of the dead, and consider the innume- 
rable multitude who have returned to the dust 
of the earth, the mind of man might, almost of 
necessity, associate with such a scene more or less 
of confusion. The Apostle guards against it, 
being jealous for the honour of the Lord of Hosts. 
For he says, " as in Adam all die, even so in 
Christ shall all be made alive : but every man in 
his own order. Christ the nrstfruits." How is 
this to be understood? Were none raised from 
the dead before his appearing in the flesh ? Raised 
they were, as the Scriptures testify, but none 
were raised to die no more. In every recorded 
case it was but a lengthening of their days upon 
earth, and then they shortly returned to dust. 

But, connected with this resurrection shall be, 
the change of the living saints. St. Paul was the 
appointed instrument of conveying this information 
to the Church. " Behold, I shew you a mystery ; 
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the 
last trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the 
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall 



80 THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 

be changed. 5 ' (1 Cor. xv. 51, 52.) And lest any 
should think inconsistently of God, he further 
explains the Divine order in this part of fC the 
working of his mighty power." This he com- 
municates to the Thessalonian Church. u For 
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that 
we which are alive and remain unto the coming of 
the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. 
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 
with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first: Then we which are alive and 
remain shall be caught up together with them in 
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so 
shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess. iv. 
15 — 17.) The only question here to be decided 
is, Whether any beside the saints shall partake of 
this resurrection ? 

The words of Dan. xii. 2 on this subject have, I 
believe, been often misapplied. t€ And many of 
them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, 
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and 
everlasting contempt." How may this passage be 
understood ? For its explanation* we must look to 
the longer revelations upon the subject contained 
in the Scriptures of the New Testament. The 
doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is found 
* See " Restitution of All Things." P. 118. 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 



31 



distinctly stated in the Old. In the New many 
additional particulars are revealed respecting it. 
We turn, therefore, from the shorter passages of 
the one to the longer passages in the other, and, 
acting upon that principle, we cannot fail of 
arriying at one conclusion, namely, that the saints 
alone shall have part in the first resurrection. 
Thus Eev. xx. 4, 6, unfolds it, and 1 Cor. xv. 23 
seals the truth, that, at his coming, " They that 
are Christ's " shall rise. Then of necessity they 
stand before the Son of man, for they rise " to 
meet the Lord in the air. 53 Then of necessity 
must be their time of account. From which we 
gather this unavoidable conclusion, that the saints, 
or justified persons, are the manner of men who 
will then render their account to God, It may be 
objected that the Scriptures speak of a judgment 
to be executed on the ungodly world at that time ; 
from which it is concluded that the ungodly as 
well as the righteous shall then stand before the 
judgment seat of Christ. We reply, that though 
the Scriptures do so speak, there is a material 
difference between a judgment executed, and an 
account to he rendered ; and the real character of 
the former in the present case is described by our 
Lord himself. " Let both grow together until the 
harvest ; and in the time of harvest I will say to 
the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and 



S2 THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 

bind them in bundles to burn them ; but gather 
the wheat into my barn.— The field is the world ; 
the good seed are the children of the kingdom; 
but the tares are the children of the wicked one : 
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the 
harvest is the end of the world ; and the reapers 
are the angels. As therefore the tares are 
gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in 
the end of this world. The Son of man shall 
send forth his angels, and they shall gather out 
of his kingdom all things that offend, and them 
tvhich do iniquity, and shall cast them into a 
furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing 
of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth 
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who 
hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matt. xiii. SO, 
38 — 43.) When a man has settled the affairs 
of his own house, he then directs attention to those 
things which are without ; and so, in the present 
case, when the Lord shall have settled the claims 
of the members of his own household, the Church, 
and ordered the things which belong to his kingdom, 
then he shall turn to those who are without : then 
" the Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and 
they shall gather out of his kingdom all things 
that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall 
cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth." 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 



33 



II. We are now to inquire, What period of 
time shall be occupied by this act of judgment ? 

The characteristic majesty of the Divine pro- 
ceedings will not be changed in the present case, 
for he is " the same yesterday, and to-day, and 
for ever." We are apt to dishonour God by 
thinking of him as one of onrs elves. True it is, 
that he stoops down to the measures of a man in 
his dealings with us. True, he binds Iiimself by 
the limits of time, aye, and keeps them to a day 
and to an hour to fulfil his word. Yea, " the self- 
same day ?5 it will come to pass because he hath 
said it. But in all this there is no haste. The 
habit of the divine mind is with eternal transac- 
tions: the Ancient of Days moves majestically in 
all his ways, and he " whose goings forth have 
been from of old, from everlasting 99 (Mic. v. 2), 
knows not what it is to be in haste. Notwith- 
standing this, what have been our early associa- 
tions with this subject? We have considered it 
an hasty work. We have thought how the Lord 
should come down from heaven suddenly upon 
this world ; and having, by a miraculous move- 
ment settled all the intricate concerns of a thousand 
generations, almost in a moment of time, having 
turned the wicked into hell with all the people 
who forget God, that then he will return to hea- 
venly places with his saints, there to reign with 

c 3 



84 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 



them in glory everlasting. I believe I do not 
exaggerate the common faiths, in the foregoing 
statement. Of the duration, as to time, of the 
account to be rendered by the saints when the 
Lord shall come, we have some intimation in the 
Scripture. 

I know full well that many a one there is, who 
will travel with us step by step in our passage 
through these portions of the Divine Word ; but, 
when we have arrived at this point, he will halt 
and walk no more with us. I therefore avoid 
entering into the particulars of this subject, and 
shall only observe generally that, if those ex- 
pounders of God's truth are correct, who believe 
that the termination of Israel's trouble, as signified 
in some parts of Sacred Scripture, will take place 
at the time of the first resurrection, then the 
period which shall be occupied by the judgment 
of the saints, will be the number of years which 
must expire between the occurrence of those 
events, and the expiration of the last number 
revealed to Daniel (chap. xii. 12) ; and this period 
we believe to be twenty years.* 

Now when we consider the sum of that account, 
from the complicated interests of "a multitude 
which no man can number," we safely arrive at 

* The brevity and incompleteness.of this part of our argu- 
ment is explained by the notice, p. 24. 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 



35 



this conclusion j that the period thus intimated in 
Scripture, is not disproportioned to the amount of 
the work which shall then be required to be 
done. 

III. We proceed lastly to consider, the character 
of the account which shall then he rendered, 

AVe have already ascertained that the subjects 
of that judgment will be the saints, or justified 
persons ; those who long before, having been justi- 
fied by faith, have had peace with God, through. 
Jesus Christ our Lord. The great question to 
be decided, in order to settle the character of their 
account, will be, AVhether their sins shall be re- 
membered in that day? And here I would put 
two questions : — the first, Is it consistent with 
Probability that they should be ? The second, Is it 
consistent with Revelation ? 

Some may raise the question, whether Satan 
will then be permitted to appear as " the accuser 
of the brethren," in that scene ? But, I think, 
the Scripture is clear upon that subject, and when 
we read Rom. viii. 33, Isaiah xliii. 25, and liv. 17, 
our conclusion would be, that this is improbable. 
But, when we ton from these testimonies to that 
which Rev. xx. 2 affords, all doubt upon this 
subject seems to be removed, and the order of 
events as there recorded puts it, I think, beyond a 
question ; because it is there revealed that before 



86 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 



the first resurrection, Satan is bound and cast into 
the bottomless pit. 

Is it, now, consistent ivith Probability that the 
sins of the saints shall be remembered in that day ? 

When we consider the nature of the forgiveness 
of sin, at the conversion of the sinner, that it is 
plenary remission, and that the sinner is then con- 
sidered perfectly just, by imputation, in the sight 
of an holy God, it appears improbable that sins so 
forgiven should be remembered again. Why 
amongst ourselves, if one man sin against another 
and he forgive him, is it consistent with any prin- 
ciple of right feeling that, after any period have 
elapsed, he should call that forgiven sin to re- 
membrance ? A principle of worldly honour 
would unhesitatingly condemn such a course ; and 
the higher principle of the Gospel, which actuates 
a Christian man, would confirm it. But whence is 
this higher principle derived? It came down 
from God who gave the Gospel, and is therefore to 
be traced upward to himself ; wherefore when he 
shall rend the heavens and come down, as the 
judge of all the earth, surely that same principle 
will be manifested, when he shall " give reward 
unto his servants the prophets, and to the saints, 
and to them that fear his name, small and great." 
(Rev. xi. 18.) It is, moreover, hardly conceivable 
that " the spirits of just men made perfect," who 



WHEX THE LORD SHALL COME, 



37 



have been "-with. Christ/' some for one, two, 
three, four, or even five thousand years, basking 
in his smile j rejoicing daily in his love, should after 
such a lengthened period of blessedness, leave 
that glorious condition of divine favour, and stand 
in the condition of culprits before the bar of that 
same God and Saviour; and be humbled before 
the innumerable company of angels, and the 
general assembly and Church of the first-born. 

What ! shall the great progenitor of all man- 
kind be then arraigned before the bar of Christ 
for that tremendous sin, which enclosed within its 
teeming womb every iniquity which has blackened 
the dark page of man's eventful story, and has 
brought in its train all the misery and woe which 
have hung, like funeral trappings, around this 
dwelling-place of man? Shall that black act of 
prime rebellion be then dragged forth to light, and 
exhibited in all its fearful colours before their sons 
and daughters of every generation ? Shall the sin 
of Xoah, the father of a second world, be then 
exhibited? Shall the idolatry of Abraham, the 
father of the faithful, be remembered again ? Shall 
the deceit of Jacob, the rightly called " Sup- 
planter," be for a season once more substituted for 
the honourable title of Israel ? Shall the murder 
and adultery of David, the man after God's own 
heart, once again see the light in all their native 



38 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 



deformity? and shall Peter's denial of his loved 
Lord, with every aggravation of bitter oaths and 
curses, be charged against him, who long since in 
real humiliation of spirit appealed to his reconciled 
master, " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou 
knowest that I love thee ? 55 and Paul be arraigned 
before a cloud of witnesses, as " a blasphemer, a 
persecutor, and injurious ? " How inconsistent 
with the glorious accompaniments of that scene ! 
Nay, rather will they then receive the " crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, shall give them at that day: and not to them 
only, but unto all them also that love his ap- 
pearing." (2 Tim. iv. 8.) 

But, if it be inconsistent with Probability that 
the sins of the saints shall be then remembered, 
what saith the Scripture? Is it consistent with 
Revelation ? 

From amidst the various testimonies which 
abound upon this subject, I select two. St. Paul 
in speaking of the future mercy of God to Israel 
(Heb. viii. 12) ; and, amongst other blessings pro- 
mised on the day of their restoration to the Divine 
favour, he specifies this, "1 will be merciful to 
their unrighteousness, and their sins and their 
iniquities will I remember no more." If God 
promise that there shall be no more remembrance 
made of sin, when he restores Israel to his favour, 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 



39 



are we to suppose that lie will act by another rule 
in dealing with his saints from anion©' the Gen- 
tiles ? That be far from thee, Lord. The dif- 
ference in the judgment between the two will be 
this, that here, as elsewhere, the Jew shall have 
the precedence. " To them who, by patient 
continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and 
honour, and immortality, eternal life ; but unto 
them that are contentious, and do not obey the 
truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and 
wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of 
man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of 
the Gentile : but glory, honour, and peace, to 
every man that worketh good ; to the Jew first, 
and also to the Gentile : for there is no respect of 
persons with God." (Rom. ii. 7 — 11.) A second 
passage, which I adduce in support of this view, is 
found in the writings of St. John ; " And now, little 
children, abide in hhii ; that, when he shall appear, 
we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before 
him at his coming." (1 John ii. 28.) If the old 
sins of every believer are to be brought before the 
assembled Church of God at that time ; if, before 
that cloud of witnesses, all those evils under 
which every member of that Church has been 
bowed down in the days of the flesh, are to be 
had in remembrance, how can the saints lift up 



40 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 



their heads and rejoice in that day? how can they 
be other than ashamed before the Lord, at his 
coming ? Our conclusion, therefore, is this, that 
the account then to be rendered, will be confined 
to the occupation of the several talents, with 
which each individual has been intrusted, and the 
judgment will be one of gracious reward. A 
reference to Luke xix. 12 tends to confirm this 
conclusion, and St. Paul's doctrine as conveyed in 
1 Cor. xv. 41, appears to me to confirm it. " There 
is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the 
moon, and another glory of the stars ; for one star 
differ eth from another star in glory." As there is 
a diversity in the measure of glory in the sun and 
in the moon, and amongst the countless multitude of 
stars which occupy the heavens around us, so 
there shall be among the saints in the kingdom of 
our Father ; and, though every saint " shall shine 
forth as the sun " in that kingdom, because every 
saint shall be a reflection of the glory of Christ 
(Matt. xvii. 2), yet a larger share shall be awarded 
to some than to others in that day ; as ec one star 
differeth from another star in glory." Thus we 
have obtained a reply to the several inquiries, 
which we proposed to make, and, as I humbly trust, 
consistent with scripture truth. It now remains for 
us to endeavour to bring the doctrine closer to 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 



41 



ourselves, and may the Holy Ghost make it a 
blessing unto all ! 

The lesson which I would inculcate from the 
doctrine delivered, is this. That the nearness of 
that event should quicken us in preparing to stand 
before the Son of man. 

The nearness of that event may be gathered from 
our position on the stream of time, and our bear- 
ing on the prophetic landmarks which the Scrip- 
tures describe upon its banks. That wondrous 
stream which God brought " out of his treasures " 
(Jer. x. 13, Psalm cxxxv. 7) in the beginning : 
which, flowing from beneath the eternal throne 
(Isaiah lxvi. 1), has been rolling onward in its 
mystic course for six thousand years, bearing upon 
its bosom every generation of men : which came 
forth at the first clear as crystal, and smooth as the 
brow of Jesus, but how soon to become turbid and 
denied by the sin of man ; and as the restless 
flood (Isaiah lvii. 20) moved on, it has gathered 
the accumulated sin of every generation, and so it 
will gather, until it have run its course, and be 
disgorged again into eternity ! 

What now is our position upon this stream, in 
respect to time ? 

It may be drawn, I believe, with no small 
accuracy from the words of inspiration, upon 
which I forbear to enter,* but from which this 
* See note, p. 34.. 



42 



THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED 



truth becomes self-apparent, that ec the day of the 
Lord is at hand." And this all-important fact 
gathers strength from that other particular of 
which we speak, our bearing on the prophetic land- 
marks on its banks. 

Of all those sure signs, with which the Word 
of God abounds, which mark the winding up of 
our present dispensation, I believe, two only 
remain.* The one, The restoration of Judah, in 
an unconverted state, to the city and the land of his 
fathers ; the other, The sign of the Son of man in 
heaven. With respect to the first, it is an un- 
avoidable deduction from Zechariah's prophecy ; 
that as, when the Lord shall appear for their 
deliverance from their last trouble, he shall find 
them in their own land, they shall then be con- 
verted unto him, by looking upon him in that 
day ; into that land and into that city they must 
have gone, in a condition of national unbelief. 
(Zech. xii. 1 — 14, xiv. 1 — 4.) In their return, 
therefore, to Judea and Jerusalem, I look as the 
next event which has yet to take place, believing, 
as I must, that the other buds of the parabolic 
fig-tree have unfolded ; and that these two alone 
remain to be developed.f And, if this event may 
be very near, "What manner of persons ought 

* See "Bloomsbury Sermons, 1843." P. 74. 
f The coming of Elijah the prophet, may be considered as 
one of the buds of the parabolic fig-tree, and if so, there 



WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME. 



43 



we to be, in all holy conversation and godliness ? " 
And should this event prove actually to be so, 
shall we then think, if now we give good heed to 
it, that we shall have been preparing too soon or 
too earnestly to stand before the Son of man? And 
if the minister of the Lord believe in his con- 
science that it is so, what should be the reply 
which he should give, from the watchtowers of 
our Zion on which he stands, to every one that 
asketh, " Watchman, what of the night ? " surely 
this ; " The morning cometh/' to the saints of 
God ; " and also the night," of sorrow to a 
heedless and ungodly world. Why ! the very 
streaks of light, the harbingers of early dawn, are 
now beginning to break over the mountain tops, 
and to tell us that " the day-spring from on high 

are three signs instead of two remaining. I mean not to 
controvert this idea, much less to raise a question about a 
fact so plainly revealed in Sacred Scripture. A reference to 
the " Restitution of All Things," page 147 — 151, will show 
that I have earnestly contended for this faith. That Elijah, 
the prophet, shall personally appear among the seed of 
Abraham about that time, is clear from the Scripture, for it 
must be before the day of wrath. (Mai. iv. 5, 6.) But as 
there appears to be no preparation amongst the restored of 
Judah, before the Lord's appearing, as we gather from Zech. 
xii. and xiv., which seems to be the object of Elijah's advent, 
I cannot but conclude that his ministry is designed for the 
dispersion, and especially of the kingdom of Israel, amongst 
whom he ministered, as a prophet, in the days of his 
flesh. 



44 THE ACCOUNT TO BE RENDERED, &C. 

is at hand/' and that the day of the Lord must 
shortly dawn. And what a condition of blessed- 
ness, for the saints of God will it introduce ! Now 
they may be blessed abundantly through the un- 
deserved mercy of our God ; but now their cup is 
mixed, then an unmmgled cup of blessedness is 
their portion for evermore. No more sorrow, no 
more sighing, no more pain, no more sin, for the 
former things shall have passed away. Then, like 
Moses on the top of Pisgah, they may look back 
upon the way by which they have gone in the 
waste howling wilderness behind them, and 
forward, to what a scene ! Before them is the 
unfolding vista of eternal ages, with the long- 
distance sinking far away in the glory which shall 
then be revealed. How many, may I ask, of this 
congregation are preparing for this event ? 

O God ! who alone can turn the heart, turn the 
hearts of this people, as the heart of one man, to 
thee. Prepare them for thine appearing, and thy 
kingdom. Yea, so fix their best desires now upon 
thee, that in the day when thou shalt come, every 
one who is here present may be found amongst 
thy people, joining in one Hallelujah, and lifting 
up their voice in one common song, " Lo ! this is 
our God, we have waited for him, and he will save 
us : this is the Lord, we will rejoice and be glad 
in his salvation ! " 



LECTURE III. 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, A PLEDGE OF GLORY 
AT THE APPEARING OF CHRIST. 



BY THE REV. E. HOARE, A.M., 

CURATE OF RICHMOND. 



Ephesians I. 13, 14. 

u In whom also after that ye believed, ye were 
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, 

66 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until 
the redemption of the purchased possession, unto 
the praise of his glory" 

The Church of Christ is always described as a 
waiting Church, and the people of God a waiting 
people. From the first hour of the fall, they 
have been waiting for the day, when the seed of 
the woman shall bruise the serpent's head ; in 
their daily walk of faith they are waiting on the 
Lord for grace ; and from the time of the ascension 
they have been waiting for the glorious coming of 



46 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



their King. Thus, patient expectation forms one 
of trie grand elements of Christian character. In 
every thing he does the believer is expecting 
God : in prayer he expects his blessing ; in the 
study of the Word he expects his wisdom ; in the 
sacraments he expects his presence ; in his warfare 
against sin he expects a triumph through the 
victory of his Lord. 

But it behoves us to be careful that this expecta- 
tion rests on a well-grounded hope. If to us the 
day of the Lord will prove darkness and not light, 
it is vain for us to long for it ; if we cannot have 
boldness even in the day of judgment, it is suicide 
to pray that the King of kings will hasten his ap- 
pearing. Let us, then, carefully examine what is 
the pledge and evidence of our being welcomed as 
sharers in his kingdom. In this inquiry our text 
may furnish us with a guide, being written to 
assure the Ephesians of their own interest in the 
blessed inheritance of the saints of God. In ver. 
10, the apostle had unfolded the grand purpose of 
redemption : " That God might gather together in 
one all things in Christ." In ver. 11, he declares 
his own possession of the promised gift: u In whom 
also we have obtained an inheritance." And in 
13, 14, he assures them that they also were 
sharers in the coming glory, for they too had 
believed, and having believed, were sealed by 



A PLEDGE OF GLORY. 



47 



God's Spirit as a pledge and earnest of their 
safety. 

" In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard 
the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation ; 
in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed 
with that Holy Spirit of promise, 

u Which is the earnest of our inheritance, until 
the redemption of the purchased possession, unto 
the praise of his glory." 

The words then will teach us : 

I. That God has a purchased people upon earth. 

II. That this people are waiting for glory at the 
coming of the Lord. 

III. That during the period of then waiting 
they are sealed by the Holy Spirit. 

IV. That this seal is the earnest or pledge of 
their inheritance. 

I. First, then, we learn that God has his pur- 
chased people upon earth. 

The Church is here described as his " purchased 
possession," just as it is said, Acts xx. 28, to have 
been " purchased with his own blood;" words 
which describe in both passages an interest of the 
closest and most endearing character. There are 
in common life two separate acts in every pur- 
chase : the payment of the price, and the fetching 
home the purchased property. Of these the 
former was finished in the atonement ; the latter 



48 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



is in the constant process of completion through 
the ingathering of God's chosen children. This 
distinction explains the limitation of the act of 
purchase, in our text, to his elect people. Of the 
atonement we are told that it was universal ; that 
"he made by the one oblation of himself, once 
offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, obla- 
tion, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole 
world." " He is the propitiation for our sins ; and 
not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 
world." (1 John ii. 2.) When the Son of God 
said, " It is finished," the price was paid for all ; 
and the commission went forth to offer unto all 
the free promise of pardon and salvation through 
his blood. " God so loved the world that he gave 
his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
Thanks be to God we know no limit to the free 
invitation of our King ; no barrier to the abundant 
flow of living water ! Most freely, most unreserv- 
edly, most fearlessly, can we proclaim to every 
sinner under heaven, " I have blotted out as a 
thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy 
sins, return unto me for I have redeemed thee." 
Are there present then any anxious inquirers after 
life ? Any who see the glory of the kingdom, but 
yet fear that it is not for them ? Take home, dear 
brethren, the assurance that he died for all ; for 



A PLEDGE OF GLORY. 



49 



you, though you deserved it not ; yes, even for you, 
who have so often, so grievously, sinned against 
his law ; your sins were laid on him, and believing 
on him you shall be free and safe for ever. 

At the same time there is plainly a limit in the 
fetching home of a purchased people : " Many 
are called, but few chosen;" and although the 
stream of living waters has been deep, and broad, 
and clear, and though the fountain opened for sin 
and for uncleanness has been sufficient, amply 
sufficient, for the washing off the sins of the whole 
of this most sinful world, yet the green pastures 
that have been watered by it have been so few 
and narrow, that in some ages they are scarcely 
traceable in history. The people of God have 
always been a little flock. Now of this little flock 
our text is speaking, under the title of " the pur- 
chased possession." The word in the original 
(irepiiTOirjcrL^) expresses, " that which God has 
made his own." It is the same word used by the 
Septuagint for Jacob's cattle, Genesis xxxi. 18, 
" The goods which he had gotten, and the cattle 
of his getting." It goes, therefore, far beyond the 
first act of atonement, and conveys the idea of 
appropriation. It expresses the fulfilment of the 
prayer, " So fetch them home, blessed Lord, to 
thy flock;" and refers to the application of the 
blood of Jesus through the effectual call of the 

D 



50 



PERSONAL HOLINESS^ 



Holy Spirit. He hath made them emphatically 
his own. His own children adopted into his 
family ; his own servants " translated into his 
kingdom;" his own, for they are "his peculiar 
treasure ;" his own, for they are ec formed for him- 
self that they should shew forth his praise ; " his 
own, for he dwelleth in the midst of them, and 
will never leave them, having declared, " They 
shall be mine in that day when I make up my 
jewels." 

II. Now the joys of Christ's coming are limited 
exclusively to this purchased people. When 
Christ saith, Behold, I come quickly ; they only 
can reply, " Even so come, Lord Jesus." Ac- 
cordingly this glorious event is described as their 
redemption : " Which is the earnest of our inherit- 
ance until the redemption of the purchased pos- 
session." We are led then to the second great 
truth to be gathered from our text, viz. : — 

That this purchased people are waiting for glory 
at the coming of their Lord. 

That the day of redemption refers to this 
triumphant period is evident, from the fact that 
when it arrives the earnest will be no longer 
needed, but the inheritance itself enjoyed in full 
possession by the heirs of God. It is " the time 
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord," 
mentioned by St. Peter ; " the redemption that 



A PLEDGE OF GLORY. 



51 



draweth nigh/' predicted by our Lord himself; 
" the adoption or the redemption of the body/' " for 
which the whole creation groaneth and travaileth 
in pain together rintil now." (Romans yiii. 22.) 

Now as we found a twofold meaning for the 
word " purchased/" so shall we also find a twofold 
meaning for the word " redemption." In some 
passages it expresses the deliverance of the soul 
from the curse of sin, through the most precious 
blood of God's dear Son ; in which case it is 
described as a past and finished act, because the 
child of God is already pardoned, having his name 
written in the Lamb's book of life. Thus, ver. 7, 
" In whom ice have redemption through his blood, 
and forgiveness of sins." But in other places, as 
for example, in our text, it is described as altogether 
future. We are now sealed " until the redemp- 
tion:" in which passages it refers to the final 
victory of the Son of man, the final ingathering of 
his people. And most justly is this coming salva- 
tion called redemption, for then — 

(1.) The purchased possession will be set free 
from the power of corruption within the heart. In 
every child of God there is a new life, even now 
implanted ; a new will^already given by the Holy 
Spirit ; but yet how hard is the struggle against 
indwelling sin ! How sluggishly do the affections 
rise and fix themselves upon the things of God ! 

d 2 



52 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



How rapidly and how powerfully do they entwine 
themselves around the things of earth ! How many 
tears of deep contrition are shed, and must be 
shed by the child of God, when he gazes in faith 
on the cross of Christ, beholding his agony and his 
love, and then turns to the cold, lifeless, powerless 
devotion of his own ransomed spirit ! There seems 
little more light or heat produced than when the 
sunbeam is reflected from the cold damp rock. 
But then there shall be no more power left to clog 
the spirit in its flight to God ; indwelling sin will 
be clean rooted out for ever ; the world will have 
no more power to tempt and hinder us in our 
union with Christ than had the hosts of Egypt 
to fix the chain of bondage upon Israel, when 
Moses looked back upon their lifeless carcasses 
and scattered chariot wheels, and cried, " Thy 
right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power : 
thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the 
enemy." No ! there will be no difficulty then 
in communion with Jesus ; no effort needed to 
realize his love or feast the soul in the enjoyment 
of his presence, " for then we shall see him face to 
face." And further still, there will be no tempta- 
tion to dishonour him ; we fleed approach him with 
no tears, no shame, no deep humiliation, no fear, 
no misgiving, for sight produceth likeness, and 
however little we can fathom the depth of coming 



A PLEDGE OE GLORY. 



53 



glory, of this one thing we are persuaded, that " we 
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.' 3 

(2.) But there are yet further reasons why this 
day should be called the day of redemption. 

Of the whole purchased possession only a small 
portion groan under the burden of indwelling sin. 
By far the greater number are already perfectly 
free from it. The whole long series of believers 
who haye successively fought the fight of faith 
and finished their course, already " rest from their 
labours;" and, therefore, from that hardest of all 
labours, the struggle against sin. Now, the pur- 
chased possession includes both living and departed 
saints, and the day of redemption is to them as well 
as to us a blessing. All the scattered fragments of 
decayed manhood, the ashes of the martyrs, the 
lost bodies of the drowned, and the countless vic- 
tims of decay, will all be redeemed from the power 
that has decayed them, and be re-united in the 
living bodies of the saints who form the bride over 
whom the Saviour rejoiceth as the bridegroom. 
" They are waiting for the adoption, to wit, the 
redemption of the body." Then sin and death 
will together lose their sway; sin over the soul, 
and death over the body. There shall be no 
mourning of the widow, no aching in the mother's 
heart, no sinking of the frame under disease, " no 
more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither 



54 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



shall there be any more pain ; for the former things 
are passed away." 

III. In the great day, therefore, the work of 
redemption will be complete in the purchased 
possession. It is plain, therefore, that our hope 
of coming glory depends wholly upon our being 
numbered amongst this happy company. The 
work of Christ is the redemption of the purchased 
possession. Those, therefore, who form no part of 
that possession, can have no share in the redemp- 
tion. But here arises the question, is there any 
test by which the purchased possession are distin- 
guished from the world ? The text answers it by 
teaching us that there is the seal of the Spirit, 

We have already shewn by the context, that 
St. Paul appeals to this seal as an evidence that 
the believers at Ephesus were received to a share 
of Christ's inheritance. This, then, let us care- 
fully examine. 

The object of a seal is to denote property; and 
here we may trace the connexion between the 
seal and purchased possession. He hath sealed 
those whom he hath made his own. They are in 
the world, but yet not of the world ; moving 
amongst other men, engaged in similar pursuits, 
subject to the same laws, concerned in kindred 
interests, but yet they are no more one with them 
than the gold is one with the rough ore in which 



A FLEDGE OP GLORY. 



55 



it lies imbedded ; and cordd we see as God seeth, 
we should perceive on each heart the stamp of the 
Holy Spirit separating them as God's property, 
sealing them as God's people. 

The great agent in impressing this seal is 
plainly the Holy Ghost, here called the Holy 
Spirit of Promise, fulfilling the eternal counsels of 
the Father, as Eph. iv. 30, " Grieve not the 
Holy Spirit of God by whom ye are sealed and, 
2 Cor. i. 22, " God who hath sealed us, and given 
us the earnest of the Spirit hi our hearts." 

Upon the exact nature of the seal there has 
been some little difference of opinion. Some have 
referred it to the gift of the Holy Spirit in bap- 
tism ; some to that in confirmation ; while others 
have confined it to the secret voice of God in the 
heart, described by the apostle when he says, 
" The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit 
that we are the children of God." As there is no 
such limitation stated in the passage, we had rather 
take the wider sense, and refer it to the whole stamp 
of God upon the soul of the believer. That this is 
the true meaning may be gathered also from the 
connexion between that and the sanctifying influ- 
ences of the Spirit. The charge just quoted from 
Eph. iv. 30, stands imbedded in a practical exhor- 
tation to purity and love. 

So again, the words, 2 Tim. ii. 19, " Never- 



56 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



theless the foundation of God standeth sure, having 
this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. 
And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ 
depart from iniquity," implies a direct connexion 
between the seal and the holiness of the adopted 
family of God. 

Now on the seal there are three things often 
to be observed : a name, a moral, and a likeness. 
In the seal of the Spirit all these may be dis- 
covered. 

There is the name of God, as Rev. xiv. 1, the 
144,000 had " the Father's name written on their 
foreheads." They are, therefore, no strangers to 
him. They know his name as they know his 
voice ; and having that name sealed on them by 
the Holy Spirit, they can boldly and freely and 
confidently cry, Abba, Father ! 

There is moreover the law of God. 

Where the Holy Spirit dwells he always stamps 
God's law. There is no such thing as grace with- 
out holiness ; no real work of the Holy Spirit 
where there is no moulding of the heart after his 
will. Thus the promise of the Saviour is, " I will 
put my law in their inward parts, and write it in 
their hearts ; and I will be their God, and they shall 
be my people." (Jer. xxxi. 33.) Here we have 
the exact idea of our text. There is the purchased 
possession, " They shall be my people;" and the 



A PLEDGE OF GLOKY. 



57 



seal of tlie Spirit, the lay/ of God engraven on the 
heart by God himself. Thus the law is not merely 
set before the Christian, it is wrought into him. 
The wax changes its form under the seal, the 
likeness on the seal becomes the likeness on the 
wax, and there is a oneness wrought between 
them ; so here, a new mind is given, a new form 
created, a oneness of will with God produced. 
His will is our will ; his mind is our mind ; his 
law our delight, our joy, our desire. " He that is 
joined to the Lord is one spirit." 

There is, moreover, a likeness in this seal ; the 
likeness of none other than the Son of God. 

In every branch there is a certain likeness of 
nature with the vine ; in every child a certain 
likeness to the parent ; in every limb a certain 
oneness with the whole body ; and on every 
member of Christ's Church there is the likeness 
of the Lord, more or less, visibly stamped by the 
Spirit. As before, the Holy Ghost is the great 
sealing agent ; and he carries on his work by the 
reflection of Christ's image in the heart. We 
have already remarked, that sight produced like- 
ness. Now the believer sees Christ and knows 
him ; darkly, it is true, and by faith only ; but 
yet he knows him, and in the light of his coun- 
tenance rejoices. And what is the effect of this ? 
That his own heart is moulded by the Holy Ghost 

d 3 



58 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



into the image of his Lord ; that there is a gradual 
process of assimilation ; that if we may follow out 
the image of the seal, the love beheld in Christ 
softens the heart, and then the Holy Ghost stamps 
his likeness upon the softened spirit. " But we 
all, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
are changed into the same image, from glory to 
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 
iii. 18.) 

Such, then, is the image of the seal ; the name 
of God, the law of God, and the likeness of the 
Son of God. With this are all God's children set 
apart and sealed as his own. Men of the world 
see it not, but it is there. Indeed, they cannot see 
it ; for if they know not the name, how should 
they read it in the saints ? If they know not the 
Saviour, how should they recognise his likeness ? 
u The world knoweth us not, because it knew him 
not." But the saints of God, they perceive it. It 
forms a holy badge of union amongst the whole com- 
pany of the redeemed. By it they recognise each 
other, as each is recognised by God ; and however 
scattered as to habit, and place, and circumstance, 
at once acknowledge that there is " one Lord, one 
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all." 
The destroying angel, too, he perceives it, like the 
blood upon the door-post, and dare not touch the 
servant of the Lord: so he passeth by, seeing that 



A PLEDGE 0E GLORY. 



59 



lie is sealed as a jewel for the crown of God: 
u Hurt not the worlds neither the sea, nor the 
trees, till we haye sealed the servants of God on 
their foreheads." While, on the other hand, the 
ministering spirits, in then rapid flight through 
heaven, they perceive it, and know thereby that 
there is a child of the kingdom, whose path they 
are to tend carefully through life, and whose ran- 
somed spirit they are to bear joyfully to the throne 
of then Lord. Above all, the Father knows it. 
He knows it, for he hath set it there. He knows 
each sealed member of his purchased Church ; 
he knows their wants, then temptations, their joys, 
their cares ; he knows them to be his own, and he 
keeps them as his own ; for " the foundation of 
God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord 
knoweth them that are his ; and, Let every one that 
nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 

IV. Nor is the seal altogether unknown to the 
individual thus sealed by the Spirit. To him it is 
the pledge of glory at the appearing of Christ. 

This property of the seal is described by our 
text, when it teaches us, that the Holy Spirit " is 
the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption 
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his 
glory." 

From these words we learn that while the saints 
are set apart as the purchased possession of then 



60 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



God, they are themselves made heirs of a glorious 
inheritance in their Saviour : Christ is their in- 
heritance, and they are his. We observe, also, 
that during their waiting period, the seal of the 
Spirit is the earnest of their possession. The word 
e - earnest" (appaficov) is used to express some- 
thing given beforehand as a pledge to ratify a 
covenant. In Gen. xxxviii. 18, we read that 
Judah gave his bracelet as a pledge that he would 
hereafter send a kid. And so, when part of the 
price is paid as an acknowledgement of the debt 
and pledge that the rest should follow, or when 
part of the purchased property is carried home, 
in token that the whole is secured unto the pur- 
chaser, that part payment is the earnest of the 
whole possession. The fact, therefore, that an 
earnest is given to the children of God, implies 
that there is an inheritance secured to them by 
covenant, and that this inheritance is already 
theirs ; though the time is not yet come in which 
they may take possession. They are like the heir 
of an estate in the days of his minority, who is 
under guardians for a while, but can still say, 
" the estate is mine." So the Church is in her 
minority until the day of her redemption, but the 
inheritance is no less her's. It is made her's by 
the covenant of God ; and she holds the earnest 
and the title deeds. Thus St. Paul writes, ver. 11, 



A PLEDGE OF GLORY. 



61 



" Iii whom we have obtained an inheritance. 5 ' 
Compare these words with our text. In the one, 
the people of God are waiting for their inheritance 
until the day of redemption ; in the other, they 
have even now obtained it (i/c\7]pco0rj/ji€p). The 
one speaks of the possession, the other of the 
covenanted title. Let none think, then, that it is 
presumption for the child of God to cry, Abba, 
Father ! without questioning the acceptance of his 
prayer. It may be presumption for us to suppose 
that all is safe because we understand the doctrines 
of the Gospel; presumption if our intellect alone 
be caught, or our fancy charmed, by the glorious 
pictures of prophetic truth ; presumption if we 
lean only on a sacramental union with the risible 
body of the professing Church ; presumption if 
our plea be our sincerity and natural effort after 
holiness : in all these cases it is indeed presump- 
tion to rejoice in the thought that we are the sons 
of God. But if there has been a thorough break- 
ing down of the old man ; a deep conviction that 
our whole hope is in Christ, and Christ alone ; if 
the Holy Spirit hath so dwelt in the heart as 
to put God's seal on it, to make sin altogether 
loathsome, Christ altogether lovely, Christ's glory 
our joy, and Christ's likeness our heart's first 
desire, then it is no presumption to believe that 
we are his. It is only to trust his faithfulness ; 



62 



PERSONAL HOLINESS, 



it is only to believe that he has not given his seal 
in vain,, but will complete his covenant with his 
purchased people, when we rejoice in his Spirit 
as our pledge, and with the hearty song of hope 
and praise, welcome the advent of our Redeemer, 
saying, " Let the floods clap their hands, and let 
the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for he 
cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth ; with 
righteousness shall he judge the earth, and the 
people with equity." 

The work of the Holy Ghost, therefore, is the 
pledge of glory at the appearing of the Lord 
Jesus. 

But possibly there may be some persons who 
are disposed to say, " Oh ! that I could have such 
a pledge of my own safety in Christ Jesus!" 
Then you are doubtful as to your own acceptance ; 
fearful lest his coming should be to you a day of 
darkness and not light ? What can be the cause 
of this? 

And it may be that there is some darling sin 
admitted ; some dear idol still preferred to God. 
If in the wax there be one unsoftened part, the 
whole impression will be destroyed ; and if there 
be one point of reserve in your Christian dedica- 
tion, one idol not yet surrendered, you cannot 
look for the seal of God to assure you that you are 
altogether his. He sealeth no heart that is not 



A PLEDGE OF GLORY. 



63 



wholly given to him ; the Holy Spirit dwells in no 
idol temple ; and though there be accuracy in the 
faith; and even much that is lovely in the charac- 
ter, yet if sin be admitted, and lust encouraged, 
most assuredly will the words be verified, u There 
is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." 

But the want of peace may arise from mistaken 
views of the true character of Christian holiness. 
Many look for perfection when they should be 
expecting only progress ; they expect the crown 
in the very midst of their struggle against sin. 
But we must not doubt the earnest because it hath 
not all the joys of the inheritance ; we must never 
say there is no work begun, because sad experience 
convinces us that the work is not yet complete. 
The holiness of the servant of God consists not 
so much in sinlessness, as in an earnest, constant 
striving against sin. When, therefore, your heart 
is humbled to the dust through the deep conviction 
of your guilt ; when there is such contrition that you 
are ready to cry, Ci TToe is me, for I am sinful ! " 
when Christ becomes altogether precious, your 
only hope, your only stay, your only trust ; when 
your heart is so drawn towards him, that though 
you venture not to think you love him, you can 
still rejoice in the thought of his appearing; then 
you have your pledge, — you may believe, you 
may trust on, and wrestle on ; and though the 



64 



PERSONAL HOLINESS^ 



work seem only in its infancy , you may yet cling to 
your pledge, and be " confident of this very thing, 
that he that hath begun a good work in you will 
perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ." 

But it is possible that the want of peace in the 
expectation of the Lord may arise from another 
source j viz., a forgetfalness of the relative position 
of faith and holiness. If holiness is to come first, 
and acceptance second, it is impossible there 
should be peace ; no effort can remove the sense 
of separation from God. But the words of our 
text teach us plainly that acceptance must be first, 
and the sealing of the Spirit second : " In whom 
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with 
that Holy Spirit of promise." We would most 
earnestly entreat those dear brethren, who can 
detect in themselves no pledge of glory at the 
coming of their Lord, to observe the order of these 
important words. You doubt whether you are 
one of the purchased possession. You have done 
nothing to deserve the gift. Then believe without 
deserving; as a poor, guilty, sin-stricken sinner, lay 
your whole burden on the Lamb ; and as one de- 
serving wrath, entreat of Him to write your name in 
the book of life. Then you will find a holy peace 
flow through your soul ; instead of fear there will be 
a calm resting upon Jesus ; and instead of anxiety, 
and doubt, and misgiving, at the thought of his 



A PLEDGE OF GLORY. 



65 



appearing, you will be able, in the confident spirit 
of childlike love to pray with the apostle, " Even 
so, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. 5 ' 

But there are probably some dear brethren 
present who, in the midst of their weakness, are 
still conscious of such a chansre within the heart 

o 

that they reverently venture to believe it is nothing 
less than the seal of God. Oh ! what a thought ! 
Numbered amongst the purchased possession ! 
Sealed by the Holy Ghost ! Waiting for the day 
of redemption with God's pledge already given, so 
that it is impossible they should be disappointed of 
their hope ! It is too great a thought for utter- 
ance ; too vast a blessing for man to attempt to 
scan its vastness. Oh ! ye sealed servants of the 
living God ! what manner of persons ought ye to 
be in holy conversation and godliness ? How holy, 
how heavenly, how spiritual, how blameless, how 
unworldly, how unselfish, how unutterably thank- 
fid to him who hath saved you by his grace ! Ye 
are sealed "to the praise of his glory;" ye have 
the name of God on your foreheads, dishonour it 
not. Ye are clad hi white raiment, soil it not. 
Ye are sealed by the Holy Ghost, grieve him not 
by your unhallowed will. Xo ! purchased people ! 
press onwards rather as the followers of the Lamb, 
" forgetting those things which are behind, and 
reaching forth unto those things that are before, 



66 PERSONAL HOLINESS, &C. 

press toward the mark for the prize of your high 
calling of God in Christ Jesus." A little while, 
and he that shall come will come, and will not 
tarry. A little while, and " the God of peace shall 
bruise Satan under your feet" for ever. A little 
while, and there will be a sudden stop to this 
world's engagements. The lightnings will shine 
from one end of heaven to the other. The voice 
of the archangel will startle men that they may be 
ready for the trump of God, when it thrills through 
the silence of the deepest tomb. The man of 
business will quit the desk ; the thoughtless man 
of pleasure will turn pale and tremble; the man 
of lust will almost begin to pray. There will be 
men hurrying to and fro ; all eyes turned towards 
the heavens ; the timid quaking for fear ; the 
hardened cursing God ; when in the midst the 
clouds will open, and the Saviour shall come forth 
with love beaming in his countenance towards his 
sealed ones. He will recognise them, and they 
will recognise him. He will still any tendency to 
rising fear by gently saying, u Come, ye blessed 
children of my Father ;" and the whole purchased 
possession shall be " caught up to meet the Lord in 
the air, and so shall they ever be with the Lord." 

Oh ! that with yonder sacred throng 

We at his feet may fall ; 
There join the everlasting song, 

And crown him Lord of all. 



LECTURE IV. 



THE WASHING OF REGENERATION COMPLETED 
AND CROWNED IN THE REGENERATION OF 
GLORY. 



BY THE REV. T. R. BIRKS, M.A., 

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 



Matthew XIX. 28. 

M And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, 
that ye which have foil oiced me, in the regenera- 
tion, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne 
of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, 
judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 

This promise of our blessed Lord to his own 
apostles is one of deep and perpetual interest to 
the whole Church of God. It is opened by that 
solemn preface which our Saviour employs in his 
most weighty sayings, or those which are the 
hardest for our faith to receive. So it is also in 
the present verse. The promise is mysterious and 



68 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

wonderful in itself, and it is foreign from the 
general vie ws and hopes of Christians. It stands 
out, with an air of contrast, from most of the other 
promises ; and seems to discover to us a world of 
unknown and mysterious blessings in the kingdom 
of God. 

But these words illustrate the past no less than 
the future. How different will the whole course 
of the world's history appear, when we read it by 
the light, the pure and holy light, reflected from 
this one promise ! Here we behold the sure 
issue of all the changes of time. The triumphs of 
ambition, the policy of statesmen, the victories of a 
Caesar or a Napoleon, are only paving the way, 
as unconscious pioneers, for the fulfilment of these 
words of Christ. Here is the sublime and won- 
derful close to all the dreams of that Infidel phi- 
losophy, which would regenerate the world 
without a Saviour and without God. They will 
all be lost and forgotten in this regeneration of 
glory, when the apostles shall sit on twelve 
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Our present subject, however, leads us to dwell 
chiefly on the title which the Saviour has given, 
in these words, to his future kingdom. He 
describes it by one short and emphatic term, the 
regeneration. The word occurs only in one other 
place of the New Testament. It is where 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 69 



St. Paul, addressing the beloved Titus, gives that 
glowing summary of the Gospel, " But after that 
the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards 
man appeared, not by works of righteousness 
which we have done, but according to his mercy 
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and 
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us 
abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour/' 
(Titus iii. 4, 5, 6.) 

Now the use of the word in these two passages 
only, of itself conveys a most instructive lesson. 
We are thus reminded how close is the connexion 
between the present renewal of the Christian, and the 
future redemption of the world. The same word 
is set apart by the Holy Spirit to describe both 
of these events. The true Church are the first 
fruits of God's creatures, and the first fruits are 
a sure pledge of the harvest that will follow. The 
grace of Christ, in every regenerate soul, is an 
effectual earnest of that future glory. The inward 
renewal of the heart, in this life, can alone secure 
us a place in that regeneration to come. The one 
is the seed, the other is the unfolded blossom. 
The one is a spring and fountain of life in the 
soul of the believer, the other is that ocean of 
joy and blessedness into which it must eternally 
flow. 

The great purpose of the Gospel is to restore 



70 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

the lost image of God to the soul of man. Hence 
no part of Divine truth, is more important than 
that which unfolds the nature and distinctive signs 
of this vital change. The ruin or salvation of 
innumerable souls may depend on their views of 
this doctrine, on their embracing the truth, or 
contenting themselves with a falsehood. And yet 
no doctrine unhappily has been more involved in 
doubt and controversy. The simple outlines of 
Divine truth have been clouded by verbal dis- 
putes, or assailed by most fatal errors. The nature 
of a change of heart, always mysterious in itself, 
has been rendered more obscure by viewing it 
mainly in connexion with outward means of grace, 
and the unconsciousness of childhood, rather than 
in the manifest fruits of sin or righteousness, and 
in the future glory of the resurrection. And thus 
words designed to encourage the faith and animate 
the hopes of God's people, may be perverted so as 
to blind the eyes of worldly Christians, and to 
harden their hearts against the clearest evidence 
of their own unrenewed and unholy character in 
the sight of God. 

Now in these words we have a key to remove 
the obscurity, or at least to render it harmless, 
and to guide our thoughts into a safer and clearer 
path. The Holy Spirit has used the term rege- 
neration twice only, and each time in a different 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 71 

sense. The Church, has therefore a Divine war- 
rant for using it herself with some latitude of 
meaning. As the ark of Noah, that type of our 
redemption, was built with lower, second, and 
third stories ; so may it be with this term, expres- 
sive of the same deliverance. In its first and 
lowest sense it may apply to the whole visible and 
baptized Church. In a further and stricter sense 
it may express the great and vital change in the 
inward experience of the true believer only. But 
there is another and still higher meaning taught 
us by these words of the Saviour, in which it 
denotes the coming resurrection and the eternal 
glory of the people of God. And yet these mean- 
ings may have so much in common — like the stories 
of the ark, though distinct, they may be so closely 
united — that one and the same term may not 
unfitly be used to describe them. Privileges 
common to all the baptized, by a mysterious and 
secret change, pass into quickening and special 
grace ; while grace ever contains hidden and con- 
cealed in its bosom the seeds of glory. 

But besides this lesson, which perhaps is implied 
in om: text, there is another truth which is taught 
us still more plainly. These two passages, com- 
pared together, shew us the aspect in which rege- 
neration must be viewed, if we would understand 
its true nature, or rise to a just view of its incon- 



72 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 



ceivable worth. We must fix our thoughts, not 
on the cradle of infancy, but on the brightness of 
the resurrection. We must not lose ourselves in 
the mist of verbal disputes, but place ourselves 
in thought before the judgment seat of the Lord. 
Instead of seeking to define what God has no- 
where revealed to us, how, and when, and in 
what measure his Spirit is pleased to work in the 
unconscious bosom of a child, the word of God 
here invites us to a plainer duty. It bids us 
trace regeneration, first as it now reveals itself in 
the renewing of the Holy Ghost, shed abundantly 
through Christ on the true servants of God, and 
manifested in all the fruits of the Spirit ; and 
then to follow its course, when, like Aaron's rod, 
it blossoms into eternal fruit in the day of the 
resurrection. Thus, following where the Scriptures 
lead us, we may avoid the rocks and shoals on 
which many have made shipwreck, and enter safely 
on a broad ocean of Divine truth. 

Such, then, is the clear teaching of the Holy 
Spirit, when he would instruct the Church in the 
true meaning and nature of regeneration. He 
points us, not backward to the unknown time of 
His own secret working, but either inward, to the 
actual fruits of righteousness in the renewed be- 
liever, or onward to that regeneration when the 
Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory. 



COMPLETED IN THE C0MIXG GLORY. 



Let us pray for tlie guidance of this blessed Spirit, 
while we consider from these words, first, the 
nature of spiritual regeneration, or renewal of 
heart; next, its present imperfection: and then, 
lastly, its final completion in the kingdom of God. 

I. First, let us inquire what is the true nature 
of this vital change, as revealed in God's holy 
Word. It matters little whether the word rege- 
neration, or conversion, or renovation, or each in 
turn , be used to describe it ; the great question is 
the reality and necessity of the change itself. 
There is a work, deep in the soul of man, where- 
with a stranger does not intermeddle, and on 
which salvation depends. The judgment seat will 
reveal the momentous contrast, but it is already 
begun in the secret chambers of the heart. He 
who is thus " born of God " (e overcometh the 
world," and " shall not come into condemnation ; 
but is passed from death to life/' 

Line upon hue, and precept upon precept, are 
given us in the word of God, to explain the 
nature and the importance of this great transi- 
tion. Our Lord himself declares its absolute neces- 
sity for salvation in the most impressive terms. 
" Ye must be born again." " Excent a man be 
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.*' 
How deep and comprehensive the nature of the 
change, is declared to us by St. Paul, with equal 

E 



74 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 



plainness, in his words to the Corinthians. " If any 
man be in Christ, he is a new creature ; old things 
are passed away; behold, all things are become 
new." (2 Cor. v. 17.) In another place he unfolds 
to us the total contrast between a natural and a 
regenerate state. " To be carnally minded is death, 
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." 
u They that are in the flesh cannot please God." 
" As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
are the sons of God." (Rom. viii. 6, 8, 14.) The 
immediate instrument of this renewal is announced 
by St. James in his Epistle. " Of His own will 
begat He us with the word of truth, that we should 
be a kind of first fruits of his creatures." (James i. 
18.) St. Peter again exhibits the natural and con- 
stant effect of this renewal, in the love of the 
brethren, with its own enduring and imperishable 
nature. "See that ye loye one another with a pure 
heart, fervently ; being born again, not of corrupti- 
ble seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of 
God, which liveth and abideth for ever." (1 Pet. i. 
22, 23.) The beloved disciple reveals to us another 
of its sure marks in victory over worldly temptation. 
u Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the 
world." He also affirms, even more clearly than 
St. Peter, the lasting character of this change. 
(( Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin ; 
for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin, 



COMPLETED IIS T THE COMING GLORY. 75 

because lie is born of God." (1 John iii. 9 ; v. 4.) 
And thus the privileges of this inward renewal are 
set before us, like pearls on a thread of gold, from 
the first emotions of repentance and faith in the 
he art j till the redeemed shall enter with triumph 
into their promised inheritance. 

This renewal of the heart, at all times and in 
all ages, is needful for salvation. " Ye must be 
born again." It is no mere positive ordinance 
of the Gospel, but an universal law of Divine 
holiness. It has its root deep in the very nature 
of the Fall. Man is not merely under a sentence 
of guilt ; his understanding is blinded, his will and 
affections are all perverse and corrupt. He is 
without true holiness of heart, and therefore cannot 
endure the presence of the Most Holy One. 
No patchwork of reluctant duties, no power of 
truth on the surface of the conscience, will suffice 
for his recovery. The heart has become stone, 
and it must be turned to flesh. The will has 
received a deep taint at the very core, and the 
remedy must be as deep and vital as the disease. 
The bitter root of ungodliness must be plucked 
out, and a new life of love be implanted in the 
soul. For true holiness consists not in separate 
acts, or variable convictions ; it must be a perpetual 
fountain within. " A good tree cannot bring forth 
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth 

e 2 



76 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

good fruit." The change, therefore, must be 
in the will itself, heart-deep and vital ; a living 
power, and a Divine nature, engrafted in the soul 
by the Spirit of God. 

The effects of such a renewal will correspond 
with its own character. It cannot long remain 
hidden, but, our Lord himself being witness, will 
reveal itself by its fruits. The inward desires and 
thoughts of the heart will now be changed. The 
affections will be turned heavenward. The mind 
will be drawn unto high and heavenly things. 
Sin will be hated ; holiness will be coveted and 
pursued. The will of God will be set up as the 
supreme rule, and the glory of God be made the 
supreme end. To hallow His name and advance 
His kingdom will now appear the only objects 
worthy the aim of an immortal spirit. Then will 
follow the whole train of Christian graces, and, 
above all, the love of Christ and the love of the 
brethren. To such a regenerate soul these holy 
affections will be the very breath of its life, the 
deepest and most natural instinct of its being. 

The titles given to this inward change in the 
word of God are no less descriptive of its great- 
ness. It is a new birth, and a new creation in 
Christ Jesus. It is the gift of a new heart, the 
heart of stone being first taken away. It is nothing 
less than to be born of God, and born of the 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. / t 

Spirit. He who experiences it is the partaker of 
a Divine nature. Renewed facilities and a per- 
manent life of holiness are thus implanted within 
his bosom. That which is born of the Spirit is 
spirit. And the fruits of this Divine life, how 
blessed and beautiful they are ! It is love in the 
heart, and light in the understanding, and a hea- 
venly mind in the affections of the soul; joy and 
peace, goodness and faith, meekness and temper- 
ance. These are the streams from the new fountain 
of life, which the Holy Spirit now opens in the 
heart of the believer. 

The names applied to the regenerate themselves 
are not less significant of the total contrast. Once 
they were unrighteous, but now they are righteous 
before God. Once they were unbelievers and 
ungodly, now they are called, and chosen, and 
faithful, the saints of the Most High. They are 
no longer children of wrath, as others ; but have 
become the true and spiritual children of the Lord 
God Almighty. 

But the real greatness of this change will be 
seen most clearly by the future separation in the 
day of Christ. That difference must surely be deep 
and vital, on which the issues of eternal life, and 
eternal death, are made to depend. There must be 
a moral contrast between the regenerate and the 
unregenerate, wide as between light and darkness ; 



78 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 



else the righteous Judge would assuredly never 
pronounce an eternal separation between them. 
There must be a great gulf, even in this life, 
between the heart that is renewed in God's image, 
and the sinner who is still in his ungodliness ; or 
never could such a gulf have been seen fixed 
between Dives and Lazarus in the life to come. 

This inward renewal of heart is connected with 
means and helps, whereby the Holy Spirit is 
pleased often to work in the soul ; and with glorious 
results that will flow from it hereafter at the coming 
of the Saviour. 

The outward means of this renewal are often set 
before us ; they are many and various. The one 
most frequently revealed to us is the word of 
God. " Of His own will begat He us with the 
word of truth." u In Christ Jesus I have begotten 
you by the Gospel." " Ye are born again of 
incorruptible seed, by the word of God." " I 
will never forget thy precepts ; for with them hast 
thou quickened me." " The words that I speak 
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." " I 
know that his commandment is life everlasting." 
Or to sum the whole in one short sentence of our 
Lord — " The seed is the word of God." 

But besides the Divine word, other means are 
set before us as concurring to the same end. Thus 
we are told that " baptism doth now save us," and 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 79 

that we are saved by the washing or layer of rege- 
neration. (1 Pet. iii. 21 ; Tit. iii. 5.) Thus prayer 
is commanded us in connexion with the same gift. 
" A new heart will I give unto you, and a right 
spirit will I put within you. Yet for this will I 
be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for 
them." (Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 37.) So also trials and 
afflictions, the intercessions of the faithful, and the 
labours of the ministers of Christ, are all means for 
this same blessed end, the renewal of the spirit in 
true holiness after the image of God. 

But this connexion, however frequent, is not 
invariable. No means of grace can, by then mere 
presence only, ensure this unspeakable blessing. 
" The wind bloweth where it listeth." The Holy 
Spirit, in this His great and peculiar work, acts as 
a sovereign. Because He is infinitely gracious, 
He will ever manifest that it is of grace, and not of 
debt, when He bestows His benefits. To imagine 
that the inward renewal follows of course upon 
outward ordinances, is to turn them into idols, 
and provokes God to shut the windows of heaven 
against us. The privileges of baptism are indeed 
great, in every case, but they do not and cannot 
imply, in every case, this renewal of heart ; even 
if the same terms were sometimes used to describe 
them. There was an Apostle Judas, we do well 
to remember, who fell by transgression, and went 



80 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

to his own place. There was also an Apostle 
Judas, his name and title the same, but his 
character far different, who was the brother of the 
Lord, sanctified in God the Father, and preserved 
in Christ Jesus. 

The same truth will apply to every other means 
also. The seed of God's word often falls upon 
stony ground, and appears to be given in vain. 
The efficacy of prayer is great ; yet the children 
of Israel sought after God, and perished in the 
wilderness. (Ps. lxxviii. 34.) Simon Magus was 
baptized, and remained still in the bonds of ini- 
quity. (Acts viii. 13, 23.) Every means in its 
turn may fail, or all means combined, if we trust 
merely to the outward ministration. They are then 
idols, which God will utterly abolish, that our 
confidence may be in His sovereign grace, and in 
that alone. 

But there is another connexion, more close and 
intimate, between the renewal of the heart in this 
life, and the regeneration of glory in the kingdom 
of God. This does not vary like the former, but 
is sure and unchangeable. Its links are the pro- 
mises of the new and everlasting covenant. He 
who begins the good work of grace in the heart, 
will perform it until the day of Christ. (Phil. i. 6.) 
His sheep shall never perish, and no man shall 
pluck them out of his hand. (John x. 28.) He 



COMPLETED IN THE COMIXG GLORY. 



81 



may lead his people through a furnace of fire,, or 
through floods of deep water, but his promise 
remains immoveable and steadfast — " I Trill never 
leave thee, I will never forsake thee/* 5 " The Lord 
loveth judgment : he for sake th not his saints: but 
they are preserved for ever." (Heb. xiii. 5 ; Ps. 
xxxvii. 28.) The connexion, it is true, between 
the outward means of grace, and its living reception 
within, may be suspended or broken. But te nei- 
ther height nor depth nor any other creature" shall 
sever the believer from Christ, or separate grace 
in the heart from the full regeneration of glory. 

II. But however excellent the fruits, even now, 
of this inward change of heart, in the present life 
they remain very imperfect. The proofs of this 
meet us on every side. . And indeed it is this fact 
which adds such a deep interest to promises like 
that of the text. When we compare the present 
weakness of grace with its final triumph, we are 
lost in wonder at the immense contrast. We learn 
to adore the love and wisdom of the Saviour, who 
out of the mouth of babes and sucklings can ordain 
such miraculous strength, and cherishes the feeblest 
spark of holiness into a flame as bright as it is 
everlasting. 

This present imperfection of spiritual regenera- 
tion is proved by the doubts and controversies 
themselves, to which it has given rise. Had the 

e 3 



82 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

contrast been as deep and conspicuous as it will 
appear in the judgment day, these doubts could 
never have arisen. If every true Christian were 
full of holiness, and perfect in love, who could 
deny the reality of the inward change, or ascribe 
the same character to the unconverted and ungodly 
sinner ? No, in this case, the question, who are 
regenerate indeed, would have its answer written 
as by a sunbeam from heaven. It would then be 
like a blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, to 
confound what he had severed, to deny the work 
of His grace where it was so clearly manifest, or to 
ascribe the same to baptized unbelievers. But the 
actual state of the Church is very different. 
Natural conscience will often rise into a beautiful 
semblance of Divine grace ; and real holiness 
has its features dimmed and its brightness 
grievously impaired, by infirmity and corruption ; 
and hence there is a double source of delusion and 
fatal error. 

The cause of this imperfection is, first of all, 
the remaining power of sin, even in real Chris- 
tians. The enemy is dethroned, but not expelled. 
" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the 
Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary one 
to the other, so that ye cannot do the things ye 
would." (Gal. v. 17.) There is thus a struggle and 
conflict in the soul ; and the free acting of Divine 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 83 



grace is restrained and hindered. There is a mix- 
ture of corrupt tempers and unholy desires, which 
may sometimes cloudy even from the view of the 
Christian himself, the secret work of God's Spirit. 
What wonder, then, that his brethren should 
doubt, or the world deny, the reality of the blessed 
change within him, when even his own faith is 
ready to fail, and his own spirit has to walk in 
darkness ? 

But this imperfection of grace, to the eye of 
the world, is greatly increased by the falls and 
temptations of the believer. Spiritual grace, 
though its source be infinite, is limited in its own 
strength, and may be overcome, in particular acts, 
by a superior power. Now the corruptions of the 
heart, favoured and quickened by special tempta- 
tions, do often exert such a power over it. The 
secret life of holiness is then crushed and buried 
for a time, though never destroyed. It is driven 
to the stronghold for refuge ; till, by contrition and 
prayer, it derives strength from Him who is the 
fountain of strength, and rises up anew, in the 
power of Christ, conquering and to conquer. 
Thus David fell into adultery and murder. But 
the life of grace, though pent up with sin, mourned 
in secret anguish, and his bones consumed away 
with his daily complaining ; till the words of 
Nathan gave depth and power to his contrition, 



84 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

and; in the tenderest of the Psalms, he poured 
forth anew the melodies and tears of a regenerate 
heart. 

Now these falls of true believers obscure greatly, 
from the eyes of the world, the real contrast 
between a renewed and an unregenerate state. 
There are thousands who never were spiritually 
born of God, who bear no one mark of inward 
renewal to holiness ; and yet who never fell into 
open adultery, like David, or like him, committed 
murder; or, like Peter, denied Christ himself 
with an oath. The most opposite states thus appear 
confounded; and none but a spiritual eye can 
discern the immense gulf of separation which lies 
between them. He only, whose eyes are as a 
flame of fire, can discern grace in its feeblest 
efforts, from the highest and proudest attainments 
of the unrenewed conscience, and from the fairest 
shows of merely human virtue, — tainted as such 
virtue will ever be with the foul curse of a secret 
ungodliness. 

There are other causes which tend to the same 
effect, and conceal, in the present life, the power 
and excellence of inward regeneration. Grace is 
now only in its infant weakness. It is like a 
grain of mustard-seed, which is the least of all 
seeds when it is sown in the earth. It is scarcely 
visible at first, except to the eye of God himself — < 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 85 

who sees the end from the beginnings and whose 
wisdom can trace the seeds of one autumn into all 
the fruitful harvests of a thousand generations. 
The Apostle wrote to the Corinthians "as unto 
babes in Christ." And how many faculties and 
powers of perfect manhood are concealed during 
the first hours of infant weakness ! The new 
affections of the hearty in like manner, reveal them- 
selves by slow degrees ; and never will their 
beauty be fully manifest, till they appear, in their 
ripeness and maturity, in the kingdom of God. 

Another cause of this present obscurity is the 
secret and hidden character of true religion. The 
coarser passions of the heart reveal themselves at 
once. But it is not so with the operations of 
Divine grace. These are more tender and delicate 
in their growth. They will not bear to be exposed 
too soon or too rudely to the eye of man. They 
are precious seed, which has need for a time to be 
buried under ground. The Psalmist has well 
described the natural instinct of a godly sorrow, 
in those simple words — " I pour out my soul by 
myself." The mourning also of Israel, in the days 
to come, will be in solitude and silence — " every 
family apart, and their wives apart." The deepest 
emotions will often, because of their depth, shrink 
from the view even of the dearest friends. So is it 
also with the precious fruits of the Spirit. They seem 



86 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

in this life to delight most in the shade, as if they 
were reserving their full beauty for the sunshine 
of heaven. Hence true believers are called the 
secret or hidden ones of God ; and the Church is 
compared to a dove that makes her dwelling in 
the clefts of the rock, and in secret places. Thus, 
by various figures, we are taught that the experi- 
ence of the renewed heart is a hidden and delicate 
thing ; and that the choicest fruits of grace are 
those which the world cannot see, and which are 
now visible unto God alone. 

Again, beside this instinct of retirement in the 
spiritual life, there is a blighting atmosphere which 
surrounds it. The chilling selfishness of the world 
meets it on every side, to drive it into the shade. 
How should the renewed spirit expand itself 
freely in the midst of sin and ungodliness ? When 
feelings of contrite sorrow or holy joy come forth 
from their hiding-place, what response would they 
meet with, in such a world, but cold contempt, or 
heartless mockery ? Like Noah's dove, they must 
return, weary and disconsolate, to shelter them- 
selves once more in the retirement of the heart. 
And thus the regenerate life, imperfect in itself, 
appears to be still more imperfect, because the 
fruits of grace that are most lovely and beautiful 
refuse to discover themselves to an unbelieving 
world. 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 87 



The real contrast, then, between the regenerate 
and the unregenerate in heart, is at present greatly 
obscured; and the hypocrite or the worldly can 
deceive themselves more readily by a mere form of 
godliness. Out of this obscurity dangerous counter- 
feits of inward regeneration arise, as the locusts, in 
the Apocalypse, from the smoke of the pit. The fact 
of baptism, and the general privileges of the Church 
visible, may be thus confounded with the special and 
holy prerogative of being renewed in the spirit of 
our mind, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus. 
To this another and more dangerous counterfeit 
succeeds. Natural morality is made a substitute 
for Christian grace. The amiable temper, or the 
strict sense of worldly honour, which may exist 
apart from the love or fear of God, are then mis- 
taken for the fruits of the Spirit. Such persons 
may seem, like the scribe in the Gospel, to be not 
far from the kingdom of God. But then it may 
be all the harder, for this very reason, to convince 
them that any great change is still needed, or that 
the warning of the Saviour can possibly still apply 
to them — " Ye must be born again." They forget 
that a corpse may be adorned with the most lovely 
flowers, and still the breath of life may be entirely 
wanting ; and that, with all their outward morality, 
attractive as it is before men, they may be entirely 
destitute of living holiness in the sight of God. 



88 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

The danger of this self-deception is greatly 
increased^ when, besides a Christian name and 
baptism, and outward morality, there is a form of 
sound doctrine, and some real emotion of interest 
in spiritual things. Such were they, in the para- 
ble, who received the seed into stony ground. 
They received the word, we are told, with joy ; 
but they had no root in themselves, and so endured 
but for a time. They had some right views of 
the saving doctrine ; some deep emotions were 
awakened in them by the powers of the world to 
come ; but all was transient, a wave only, passing 
over the surface of the heart. The Word was 
never engrafted so as to become like a living and 
immortal seed within them. It is to such charac- 
ters, with their transitory emotions, and fickle and 
shifting impressions, that the Holy Spirit, by the 
prophet Hosea, has addressed that tender warning : 
" O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee ? for thy 
goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early 
dew it passeth away !" 

Such are the counterfeits of a true renewal of 
heart, arising from its imperfect nature and the 
obscurity in which it is concealed. And how may 
we be preserved most effectually from these delu- 
sions ? How shall we best discern the true nature 
and real excellence of this great change amidst 
all the infirmities and darkness by which it is now 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 89 

obscured ? These words of our blessed Lord sug- 
gest the true answer, and lead us to consider, 
lastly, the full regeneration in the kingdom of 
God. 

III. And here let us examine, in the first place, 
the meaning of the promise itself, and the time 
when it is to be fulfilled. When shall the apostles 
sit upon these thrones of judgment ? The answer 
is easy, if we consult the earlier prophecies of 
God's word. There is a time of the restitution of 
all things, of which God hath spoken, as St. Peter 
himself assures us, by the mouth of all His holy 
prophets since the world begun. The earth will 
then be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea. The voice will then be 
addressed to Zion : " Arise and shine, for thy light 
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon 
thee." All nations, we are told, shall then be 
gathered to the throne of the Lord, to Jerusalem, 
and shall walk no more after the imagination of 
their evil heart, (Jer. hi. 17.) Then, also, the 
promise will be fulfilled, that Israel shall blossom, 
and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. 
(Is. xxvii. 6.) In that hour of redemption, the 
words of Zechariah will be accomplished : " The 
Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with 
thee. And the Lord shall be king over all the 
earth ; there shall be one Lord, and his name shall 



90 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

be one/' (Zech. xiv. 5, 9.) Then, at the destruc- 
tion of the last enemies of the Church, the joyful 
tidings will go forth : " Behold, a king shall reign 
in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judg- 
ment." " The saints of the Most High shall 
take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for 
ever." (Is. xxxii. ; Dan. vii.) And as Israel will 
then be foremost in honour among the redeemed 
nations, so will the holy apostles be foremost in 
honour among the risen saints of God. All shall 
be kings and priests, but the highest rank in that 
royal priesthood shall be theirs. They will be the 
princes who are nearest to the King of heaven. 
And thus the promise of the Saviour in these 
words will be found in harmony with the whole 
economy of that glorious kingdom. The first 
resurrection will usher in a dispensation of right- 
eous judgment and holy dominion ; the kingdom 
of the Lord and of his Christ, who shall reign for 
ever. Then the Son of man will visibly sit upon 
the throne of glory ; and the apostles, according 
to His promise, will share in His exaltation ; they 
shall sit on twelve thrones, and judge the twelve 
tribes of redeemed Israel. 

Such is the clear meaning of this holy prophecy. 
But why does our Lord use the word, regenera- 
tion, to describe this future inheritance ? Why, 
but to teach us that the hope of His kingdom is 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 91 

inseparably linked with the most spiritual doc- 
trines of the Gospel? The work of the Holy 
Spirit in the heart is mysterious in itself ; but it 
becomes still more obscure if we trace it only in 
the oblivion of childhood, or even amid the dark- 
ness of the present world. To understand, there- 
fore, the true nature of regeneration, our Lord 
himself here bids us look forward to the life to 
come. His Advent will reflect a clear light even 
on those truths which in themselves are the most 
secret and mysterious. The work of grace will 
then be visible, not in its feeble germ, where the 
eye is soon deceived, but revealed in immortal 
strength, and expanded in eternal beauty. The 
immeasurable difference will be seen, in that 
hour, between the counterfeits of holiness and the 
living reality; and every delusion, however spe- 
cious, will be swept away, in the light which will 
then stream from the presence of the Lord. 

This kingdom of Christ is truly called " the 
regeneration," as it respects the person of each 
believer. Every child of God will then be com- 
pletely renewed in his understanding and his will ; 
in his body itself, and in all the faculties of the 
soul. Our Lord, who was the only begotten Son 
from all eternity, is said to have been begotten 
anew in the resurrection from the dead. (Acts xiii. 
33.) And so, also, the true believer is even now 



92 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 



regenerate in heart ; and yet the change in the day 
of the resurrection will be so glorious, that he may 
then be truly said to be regenerated anew. 

The understanding will then be fully renewed. 
Now, even in the holiest saints, its redemption is 
incomplete. A wonderful change, indeed, has 
passed over them. Once they were darkness, and 
now they are light in the Lord. They have 
received a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the 
knowledge of Christ, and their eyes are opened to 
behold the wondrous things of His law. But how 
much blindness still remains ! How dim, very 
often, are their apprehensions of Divine truth ! 
Even among real Christians, what divisions and 
strifes arising from their mutual errors ! What a 
cloud seems to cover us when we would fix our 
minds upon eternal things ! How soon we stumble 
amidst the deeper mysteries of God's Word, and 
too often even at its plainest doctrines ! Like the 
blind man of Bethsaida, we see men, as trees, 
walking; or say with the doubting Nicodemus, 
when heavenly truths are proposed to us, How 
can these things be ? 

But when the Lord shall appear, the understand- 
ing of his servants will be completely redeemed. 
They will no longer grope among shadows ; the 
true light will have dawned on their souls. " For 
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then, 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 93 



face to face : now we know in part ; but then shall 
we know even as we are known." (1 Cor. xiii. 12.) 

How glorious, even in this aspect only, will be 
the coming regeneration ! The soul, renewed in 
the image of Christ, will be filled with Divine 
wisdom. No errors will divide, no doubts per- 
plex, no controversies harass, the people of God. 
The mysteries of Providence, now so inscrutable, 
will then be revealed to them. The doctrines of 
grace will have every cloud that now obscures them 
rolled away, and will shine forth with a heavenly 
lustre. The glory of God in all things will be 
seen manifested in the face of Jesus Christ. The 
depth of His love, the perfection of His obedience, 
the virtue of His sacrifice, will employ their noblest 
faculties in delighted meditation. They will then 
see, without a veil, the power of His intercession, 
the wisdom of His Providence, and the glory of His 
everlasting kingdom. With every sense awake, 
with every faculty redeemed, they will gaze for 
ever on Him who is infinite in goodness, and will 
know even as they are known. O how blessed, 
how unspeakably blessed, will be this light of the 
renewed understanding, in that " regeneration, 
when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His 
glory!" 

But the heart and its affections will also have an 
equal share in this coming regeneration. Now, 



94 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 



even in the sincere believer, too many traces of 
their natural corruption remain. Vain thoughts 
and evil imaginations distract his holiest services. 
His prayers are often heartless, and his praises 
more heartless still. Every act of worship or 
obedience bears sad and mournful testimony of a 
secret enemy within. To use the forcible words 
of an old writer, " The soul that commands obe- 
dience doth itself resist it. In the same mind the 
wisdom of the flesh, which is sensual and devilish, 
fighteth against the wisdom of the Spirit, which is 
meek and peaceable. In the same will there is 
a delight in the law of God, and yet a contrary 
bias to the law of sin. In the same heart, single- 
ness and sincerity, and yet much secret fraud and 
prevarication. In the same affections, love of God, 
and love of the world, fear of God, and fear of 
men, trust in God and doubting of his favour." 

When our Lord, however, shall sit on the 
throne of his glory, these corruptions, like the 
shadows of night, will flee away and disappear. 
"We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as 
He is." (1 John iii. 2.) When St. Peter denied his 
Master, one look from the Saviour had power to 
melt his soul into an agony of tears and contrition. 
And surely the same look of love, in the day of the 
resurrection, will waken into lively exercise every 
holy affection of the regenerate heart. There will 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 95 



be no dulness or weariness^ no vain thoughts or 
wandering desires in tliat heavenly worship, but 
one full and perpetual tide of love, and joy, and 
peace, and blessedness. Those affections which 
shrank from the blighting influence of the world 
will there reveal themselves freely in the presence 
of the Saviour. Then will be seen and felt, in 
all its power , the meaning of that address to the 
Church in the prospect of her coming glory : u A 
garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse ; a spring 
shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an 
orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits ; 
calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankin- 
cense ; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices : 
a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and 
streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind : and 
come, thou south ; blow upon my garden, that the 
spices thereof may flow forth. Let my beloved 
come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." 
(Cant. iv. 12 — 16.) What a depth of holy affections, 
what various graces of the Spirit, in hearts renewed 
after the image of Christ, do these emblems imply ; 
which shall all of them be fully and eternally 
realized in the blessed hour of that coming regene- 
ration ! 

But not only the heart and the understanding 
will thus be completely renewed; the body also 
will be redeemed and made glorious. And thus 



96 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

the regeneration of the believer will be complete. 
The tabernacle will correspond with the holiness 
of the immortal spirit dwelling therein; and the 
last taint of the fall be for ever done away. Each 
faculty will appear more glorious by the glory 
which will be reflected from all the rest. The 
whole spirit, and soul, and body, regenerate and 
redeemed, will be presented faultless before the 
throne, and become an habitation of God himself 
through all eternity. 

This future regeneration will be seen further in 
the happiness and union of the whole Church of 
God. The dross will then have been purged 
away. Every hypocrite will have been separated 
from their holy company. There will not only be 
perfection in each separate heart, but full and 
perfect union in the whole body of Christ. Every 
Christian will have been prepared by infinite Wis- 
dom, like the stones in the temple of Solomon, 
for the place he will occupy for ever in that har- 
monious fellowship. No strife will disturb, and 
no coldness will deaden, the happy intercourse of 
their regenerate souls. One tide of Divine life 
will circulate through the whole body ; and the 
fulness of love in each heart will freely unfold 
itself, when it sees its own happiness reflected in 
every eye, and its own deep emotions echoed back 
in praise and gladness from every spirit. There 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 97 



will then also be the recognition of parted friends, 
communing on all the past scenes of their earthly 
pilgrimage, and meditating, with unspeakable joy, 
on the grace and providence of their Saviour. In 
one word, Christ will be all, and in all. What a 
contrast between the Church, in its present weak- 
ness, profaned by formality, rent with divisions, 
and beset with its own corruptions ; and the Church 
as it will then appear, one holy and regenerate 
body, where every thought is led captive to the 
obedience of Christ, and the renewing of the Holy 
Ghost has consecrated the whole, as a living temple, 
to the glory of God and of the Lamb for ever and 
ever ! 

This regenerate blessedness of the Church, 
again, will receive a further increase from the 
nature of the world to come in which it will be 
revealed. There will be a new creation, answering 
to the new life of holiness in the saints of the 
resurrection. The works of God will be redeemed 
from the curse ; and thus will supply the regene- 
rate soul with a large field, where its faculties may 
range freely, as in their natural home. 

In the first creation, the earth had been stored 
with all its various riches before man was formed 
to enjoy them. Light had been already called 
into being, and had coloured every landscape with 
beauty. The firmament had been established 

F 



98 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

above, and lands and seas had been separated 
below. Every tree that was good for food, or 
pleasant to the eyes, had appeared from the bosom 
of the earth. The lights of heaven, the snn, the 
moon, and the stars, had their courses appointed. 
The sea, the air, and the earth, had received their 
tenants, and were peopled with innumerable varie- 
ties of animated life. Then, at length, man was 
created, with senses and faculties in harmony with 
the world around him. His ear could drink in its 
melodious sounds ; his eye could enjoy its rich 
and varied landscapes ; and his heart could exult 
with deep sympathy in every form of life and of 
gladness, of which creation was already full. From 
the moment when the breath of life was breathed 
into his nostrils, and he became a living soul, the 
harmony of his faculties with the world that was 
spread around him, proved him at once to have 
been designed from the first as its possessor and 
its lord. 

So will it be hereafter in this new creation of 
God. There will be a redeemed world, suited to 
all the faculties of the regenerate soul. The crea- 
tion itself will be " delivered from the bondage of 
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children 
of God." He that sitteth upon the throne, will say, 
" Behold, I make all things new." The light of 
Divine goodness will then be shed, with a purity 



COMPLETED IX THE COMING GLORY. 99 



and brightness now inconceivable, over all the works 
of God. The spiritual affections will no longer be 
driven into retirement to escape the blight and pol- 
lution of the fallen world that is around them. On 
the contrary, they will be drawn out into the liveliest 
exercise by every object on which they rest The 
goodness of the Lord will be reflected clearly, and 
without a veil, from every work of His hands ; and 
all creation be one glorious mirror to image forth 
and multiply the vision of His glory. Then, too, 
will be seen the full meaning of that statement 
concerning our blessed Lord and Saviour : " He is 
before all things, and by Him all things consist. ' ' 
How little can we conceive, in our present dark- 
ness, the holy delight that will fill the Church of 
God, when their eyes shall rest upon a ransomed 
universe ; when every creature shall invite them to 
a new song of praise ; and though voiceless itself, 
shall borrow their lips to utter its own separate 
anthem, saying, " Blessing, and honour, and glory, 
and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever ! " 

Such appear to be some of the main elements in 
this coming regeneration. The heart, the under- 
standing, the soul and the body, of each believer, 
will be perfectly renewed. The whole Church, 
freed from danger without and corruption within, 
will form one united body, faultless and complete 

f 2 



100 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

in the presence of its Lord. The world itself, the 
visible creation, will be renewed also, and form a 
theatre of pure and holy delight to all the people 
of God. All these various blessings are compre- 
hended in that one short sentence : " the regenera- 
tion, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne 
of his glory." 

And now, finally, let us observe the connexion 
between present renewal of heart, and a share 
in this future inheritance. The same word, 
regeneration, includes both the seed of grace, and 
the harvest of glory. cc He that soweth to the 
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." It 
is the washing of regeneration and the renewing 
of the Holy Ghost, now begun in our souls, 
which alone can be a sure earnest and foretaste of 
the fuller regeneration that is to come. 

This truth appears from the promise to the 
apostles themselves. They had been followers of 
Christ in his temptations. Here was the mark of 
the regenerate life within them ; for it is only those 
that receive the seal of God's Spirit on their fore- 
head, who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. 
Such was the character of the apostles ; and because 
of this character, they received from our Lord his 
gracious promise — " Ye which have followed me, 
shall, in the regeneration, sit on thrones, judging 
the tribes of Israel." Their following in the steps 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 101 



of Christ was the mark of a present renewal, and 
an assurance of their part in the regeneration still 
to come. They had drunk already, and would 
soon haye to drink more deeply, the Saviour's cup 
of suffering ; they were baptized into his sorrows, 
and made conformable to his death. Foremost in 
labours and afflictions, they would hereafter be 
foremost also in dignity and honour. Their faith- 
ful zeal wordcl expose them, above others, to Jewish 
persecution and the hatred of their own country- 
men. And as their sufferings, so would be also 
their reward. In the world to come, when Israel 
should be a righteous nation, they were to receive 
a glorious prerogative. When the King of Israel 
shall reign in righteousness, they also, as princes, 
shall rule in judgment. Their special honour 
will grow out of the seed of their own peculiar 
sufferings; and they who in their lifetime were 
a mark for the scorn and murderous hatred of the 
Jews, " shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel." 

Now the same truth which is taught by this 
promise to the apostles applies equally to the 
whole Church of God. They who are renewed 
by the Spirit, so as to follow in the steps of 
Christ — these, and no others, shall partake of that 
glorious regeneration. Nay, even the nature of 
the harvest they will reap hereafter will depend 



102 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 



on the course of the regenerate life here below. 
The same variety which appears in the natural 
works of God will be equally manifest in the new 
creation. 66 Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall 
he also reap." And since there is the utmost 
diversity here in the acts of the regenerate life, in 
the gifts, the graces, and the excellences of Christ's 
servants, then we may be assured that, as the seeds 
are various, so also will be the harvest when the 
Lord is revealed. 

And what a deep interest does this thought 
infuse into all present things, when we see them 
linked by an immutable promise with the coming 
glory ! The world, seen thus with the eye of faith, 
has been for six thousand years a stupendous nur- 
sery and seed-bed for eternity. Every prayer of 
faith, now offered in weakness and sorrow, will 
yield a harvest of joy in that coming regeneration. 
Each holy desire, now secretly cherished in the 
soul, will issue in streams of righteousness that 
will make glad the city of God. The silent medi- 
tation, the secret prayer, the tear of contrition, the 
song of praise, and the sacrifices of self-denying 
love, poor, weak, and imperfect as they are here 
below, shall be found unto praise and honour and 
glory at the appearing of the Lord Jesus. Each 
varied form of truth or wisdom, of love or holiness, 
in the soul of the Christian, the fruit of his new 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 103 



creation in Christ Jesus, will leave its own sacred 
stamp on the immortal spirit, and determine his 
peculiar place and portion in the kingdom of his 
Lord. He who died for us on the cross, under 
this very title — u the Lamb that was slain 55 — will 
receive " power and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 5 ' The 
apostles, who suffered from the unbelieving Jews, 
shall hereafter judge the tribes of Israel., So will 
it be also with every believer. His prayers and 
labours and sacrifices here on earth, the fruits of 
spiritual regeneration, are the seed from which the 
future harvest will arise. His hopes, it is true, are 
founded solely on the blood and the righteousness 
of his Incarnate Saviour. The inheritance for 
which he is looking far surpasses all that his holiest 
services could claim ; for they can claim nothing 
except on the ground of God 5 s free promise. But 
though the distance be immeasurable between the 
service and the reward, the connexion, and even 
the proportion, is firm and sure. u Light is sown 
for the righteous. 55 The light of grace is the seed ; 
the fruit that will arise from it is the light of ever- 
lasting joy in the kingdom of God. Blessed are 
they who sow bountifully ; for they shall, with- 
out doubt, reap also bountifully when the Lord 
shall appear. 

And now, my brethren, in closing, let us apply 



104 THE WASHING OF REGENERATION 

the whole subject in two short lessons. First, let 
us ask ourselves, are we now renewed and regene- 
rate in heart ? Let us not be content with names 
or privileges, however holy ; but let us search our 
own conscience as in the sight of God. Have we 
such a regeneration as will be found linked and 
united with that full regeneration in the great day ? 
Let nothing short of this great change satisfy or 
content us. The love of Christ, the grace of the 
Spirit in the heart, nothing less than this will avail 
for our salvation. O that each one of us may have 
those Divine marks of spiritual renovation : " what- 
soever is born of God overcometh the world." 
" As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are 
the sons of God." 

Finally, let us look, my brethren, on all our 
present services in the light of the coming regene- 
ration. There is a secret connexion between them 
which can never be broken. Let our faith rest 
firmly upon this blessed truth. Look on your 
fellow Christians as those who shall be your im- 
mortal companions in " the regeneration, when the 
Son of man sitteth on the throne of his glory." 
Offer your prayers unto God, in secret retirement, 
or in the house of prayer, as knowing that your 
desires are all registered in heaven, and will be the 
seed of an eternal harvest. Labour in the cause of 
Christ, devote yourselves to his service, as those 



COMPLETED IN THE COMING GLORY. 105 

who believe and are sure that even a cup of cold 
water, given in love to his name, shall in no wise 
lose its reward. Learn by this one word, regene- 
ration, to link the present with the future. Re- 
member that the great Husbandman of the Church 
is even now, every day and every hour, sowing 
the seeds of eternal life in the hearts of His 
people ; and in the day when He will shortly 
appear, He will manifest the triumphs of his secret 
grace in their souls, and " they shall be called, 
the trees of righteousness, the planting of the 
Lord," that He may be glorified in them, and they 
may be blessed in Him for ever. 



LECTURE V. 



THE LORD'S SUPPER AN ASSURANCE AND 
PLEDGE OF THE LORD'S RETURN. 



BY THE REV. MOURANT BROCK, M.A., 

CHAPLAIN TO THE B4TH PENITENTIARY. 



St. Matthew XXVI. 29. 

" But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of 
this fruit of the vine, until that day when I 
drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom!'' 

He who knows what is in man, and is intimately 
acquainted with the wants and infirmities of the 
human heart, addresses himself to man in a manner 
most suited to his constitution and circumstances. 
In His works of Creation, he sets forth His Wisdom, 
Power, and Glory. In His Providence (especially 
as connected with His Church), He manifests His 
Goodness, Severity, and Truth. In His Word, 
He sets before us His promises, and teaches us, 
not merely by precept, which is cold and distant, 



THE LORD'S SUPPER, &C. 



107 



but by example, which is near and encouraging. 
Xor is this all; for, besides the Word we have the 
Sacraments, which are extensively applied to our 
senses. The sight, the touch, the taste, are here 
interested; and thus the Believer, holding in his 
hands these divinely appointed signs, has trans- 
mitted to his heart by faith, a most full and com- 
fortable assurance of the power and presence of 
his God. Eejoice, 0 believer, in the tender care 
and consideration of thy Lord thus abounding to- 
wards thee. Mark how he encourages thy faith 
and keeps alive thy hope. See and acknowledge 
all his goodness ; and now,, while thy heart longs 
for his presence, let us meditate together, how in 
His AVord just read we possess an assurance 

AND PLEDGE OF HlS RETURN. 

Our first object in discoursing from the text, will 
be to give its proper and literal meaning. There 
may be several ways of understanding a passage of 
Scripture, and each sense may be useful. But 
Scripture is not indefinite, nor, like the ancient 
oracles, ambiguous. It has always one primary 
and special meaning. A Scripture may point to 
two objects of a similar character; as, for instance, to 
the Babylon of the Old and of the Xew Testament; 
but, it does not point equally to both. It may be 
difiicult to say what the primary meaning of a par- 
ticular Scripture is ; but still a primary meaning it has. 



108 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



Nor are we justified if we do not labour to ascer- 
tain that meaning. Here " every Scribe instructed 
unto the Kingdom of Heaven 99 is manifest. We 
may not make anything we please Scripture, and 
so handle the Word of God unadvisedly, after 
our own imaginations ; but where no contradiction 
is implied, taking that Word -in its literal and 
grammatical sense, we are bound to give it in 
its most plain and obvious meaning. Thus, there 
will be a consistency in expounding the Word of 
God; Scripture will be understood as it expresses 
itself. A Gentile will mean a Gentile ; Israel will 
mean Israel; and Judah will mean Judah. Unless 
the context manifests the necessity of a figure, we 
shall not go for far-fetched interpretations; we 
shall allow Scripture to speak as any other book, 
and believe that God intends what He says in its 
most obvious meaning. 

May He now in His compassionate kindness 
look upon us. May He give us the illumina- 
tion of His Holy Spirit to conduct us to the 
truth of Scripture, and by the bright beams of 
divine light, not only illuminate our understand- 
ings, but sanctify and comfort our hearts- 

I. In expounding our text we shall first reject 
unsatisfactory interpretations, and so endeavour to 
establish what we believe to be its true meaning. 

L The first inadmissible explanation of the text 



A PLEDGE OF THE LORD'S RETURN. 109 

is, that our Lord fulfilled his implied promise of 
drinking the fruit of the vine, when, after his resur- 
rection, and previous to his ascension, His disciples 
" did eat and drink with Him. 5 '* In St. Luke's 
Gospel itisrecorded that "He ateapiece of abroiled 
fish and of an honey comb, "f And before, in the same 
chapter, in the narration of the journey to Emmaus, 
it is implied that He ate. J The same thing is also 
intimated after He showed Himself to his disciples 
on the shore of the Lake of Galilee, as recorded in 
the last chapter of St. John's Gospel. Thus, in 
the Gospels, it is once asserted and twice implied, 
that the Lord ate with His disciples. In the Acts 
it is declared as above quoted, that the Lord also 
drank with them; or, more correctly, they with 
Him. But, 

(a.) No where is it said that he drank wine ; 
whilst, from the circumstances of those with whom 
he sat down, it is probable that water was the be- 
verage. Be this, however, as it may, there is no 
scriptural proof that our Lord previous to his ascen- 
sion drank wine with his disciples. 

(b.) But further, he tells them, in the text, that 
He would drink it " new" with them. The term, 
" new," can only, we apprehend, be understood in 
two senses ; one, as referring to the fluid itself y 



* Acts x. 41. f Luke xxiv. 42, 43, J Luke xxiv. 30. 



110 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



when just fresh from the grape ; the other to some 
new manner in which it was to be used, or applied. 
Now, that our Lord did not use the term in the 
former sense is evident ; for it not being the 
season of vintage, there was no must, or new wine, 
flowing from the presses, which He with His 
disciples could drink. Whilst, as to the second 
sense of the epithet, namely, its referring to some 
new use or application of wine, His after drinking 
it (if He did drink wine) with His disciples in 
their ordinary meal, was nothing new or different 
to the manner in which it was then used by Him. 

(c.) There is yet one other expression which 
further militates against the interpretation of the 
text which we are combating ; namely, the phrase, 
" my Father's Kingdom " Until that day, when 
I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." 
Assuming that the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom 
of Heaven, my Father's Kingdom, and the Kingdom 
of the Son of Man, are the same; assuming that that 
Kingdom, commencing with the preaching of John 
the Baptist, will continue through the Millennium 
till Satan is cast into the lake of fire ; I say, assuming 
this, in what sense different to that in which He 
then drank wine, could our Lord be understood as 
implying that He would drink it during his sub- 
sequent sojourn of forty days on earth? Were 
the disciples during that period " in the Father's 



A PLEDGE 0E THE LORD'S TtETURjST. Ill 

Kingdom/' in any sense different to that in which 
they were then in it, whilst sitting at meat in that 
upper chamber ? The Holy Ghost was not given 
till after the Lord's ascension, so that in that 
respect there was to them no change of condition. 
The Kingdom of Heaven was already among them, 
and in them. They themselves had for some 
time been engaged in preaching that Kingdom. 
Therefore, they could not be said to be in the 
u Kingdom of the Father" during those forty days, 
in any sense in which they were not when these 
words were spoken, and in which, previous to 
our Lord's promise, they had not for some time been. 

Wherefore, from the absence of all proof in the 
Sacred Narrative, as to the fact of our Lord having, 
after his resurrection, drank wine ; from the cir- 
cumstance (in the event of his having drank it) 
that there is no sense in which He could have 
drank it ce new," during that period, with his 
disciples ; and, lastly, from their being, through- 
out the same period, in no other sense " in the 
Kingdom of God," than that in which they 
then were ; from these particulars we infer, 
that the interpretation of the text, which would 
refer it to the fact of our Lord's having 
drank wine with his Disciples during their ordi- 
nary repast whilst on earth after his resurrection, 
is inadmissible. 



112 



THE LORD'S SUPPEK 



2. We next examine that interpretation which 
would make the words of our Lord relate to a 
change of the Jewish Passover to the Christian 
Supper. 

The reply to this will briefly be, that it cannot 
be proved that our Lord refers to the Passover. 
He is not speaking of the Lamb, which in itself is 
called the Passover, but of bread, which He took 
u whilst they were eating/ 5 i. e., whilst they were 
at the repast ; and of wine, namely, " the cup after 
supper." 

St. Luke is the most express in his detail ; 
from which it appears that our Lord first ate the 
Passover with his disciples, and drank of the first 
Passover cup (it is supposed three or four were 
used on this occasion), saying, " Take this, and 
divide it among yourselves;" that, then, insti- 
tuting the Supper, He took bread, or the loaf, 
saying, " This is my body, this do in remembrance 
of me ;" and, lastly, " the cup, after supper, saying, 
This cup is the New Testament in my blood." 
Such is the account given by St. Luke, with which 
the other Evangelists agree. But, allowing that 
our Lord did intend his words to refer to some 
continuance of the Passover in the Lord's Supper, 
what then ? Did He ever eat that bread, or drink 
that fruit of the vine, in a sacramental manner 
with his Disciples? And this brings us to con- 



A PLEDGE OF THE LORD ? S RETURN. 113 



sider another interpretation of the words often 
given, viz., 

3. That they have received then accomplish- 
ment in the celebration of the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper. To meet this, we reply, there 
are but two ways in which this could take place. 
One, literally, from our Lord having partaken the 
Supper with his Disciples before his ascension; 
the other, figuratively, as being now present with 
his people in that Divine repast. The former 
explanation, however, will not stand from the fact 
alluded to above, namely, that there is no evidence 
that our Lord,, except in an ordinary and common 
manner, ever ate and drank with his Disciples 
after his resurrection. 

It cannot then be said that our Lord fulfilled 
his declaration literally, during the forty days 
of his resurrection state on earth. 

Let us now examine if the words have received 
a figurative accomplishment by his invisible pre- 
sence with His people at the Eucharist. The 
untenableness of this position may be thus shewn : — 

(a.) In no figurative sense does our Lord eat 
bread or drink wine in that ordinance. He is 
present, but, not a partaker, for He it is on whom 
his people feed. 

(b.) Further, to suppose that such were the case, 



114 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



would be to make our Lord partake of his own 
sacrament. 

(c.) Again j this explanation would overthrow the 
nature of a Sacrament, which is " an outward 
sign of an inward grace," of which Christ can 
have no need. 

(d.) And, further, this interpretation would make 
Christ eat and drink his own body and blood; a 
thing most extravagant, and which the Church of 
Rome involves in the figment of Transubstantia- 
tion. 

(e.) There is yet one other reason why that 
drinking -wine cannot point to the Lord's Supper ; 
in other words, cannot point to a thing which 
itself was. The Lord says, u Until the day when 
I drink it new with you." Now, it was a new 
way in which He was then drinking it with them, 
for He was instituting a new rite in his Church. 
Supposing then, for the sake of argument, that 
the Lord subsequently partook of the Supper with 
his Apostles, and is now spiritually sharing it with 
His believing people ; in either case, there is 
nothing ee new" in this use of the wine, — no tiring 
different to the manner in which he was then 
using it. 

Thus, we have disposed of three of the inter- 
pretations alluded to. 



A PLEDGE OE THE LORD'S RETURN. 



115 



Let us now turn to that which we believe to 
be the only true exposition of the passage. 
It is this : — 

4. That the words of our Lord will receive 
their exclusive accomplishment ix a state of 
the Church not yet manifested. 

That the Lord's Supper has a reference to the 
Lord's Advent we are assured from the words of 
the Holy Ghost, by Paul : fe As oft as ye eat this 
bread,, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's 
death till He come."* And that this is the sense 
in which we are to understand our text, we shall 
endeavour to prove from its exact agreement with 
what is elsewhere in Scripture revealed of a future 
state. 

We shew this in the following particulars : — 
(a.) The Phrase, " drinking wine/' which is 
equivalent to feasting, agrees with the manner in 
which the future felicity of the Saints is elsewhere 
represented. For example : es At Supper time, 
the King came in to see the guests." And again, 
" That ye may eat and drink at my table in my 
Kingdom." Such, also, was the popular idea, as 
expressed by " a certain Scribe," a man in whom 
one cannot but feel an interest : u Blessed," he 
exclaimed, " is he who shall eat bread in the 
Kingdom of Heaven." 

* 1 Cor. xi. 26. 



116 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



(5.) The Persons with whom the Lord says he 
will drink wine^ also agrees with a future inter- 
pretation. These are his Apostles, Judas being 
now gone out. Thus, to the happy future none 
but the holy shall be admitted : " There shall in 
nowise enter into the City anything that deflleth." 

(c.) The State alluded to, no less than the Per- 
sons, also, well refers to the future. This state is 
" The Father's Kingdom." Now, it is clear, that 
though this kingdom has from the days of John 
the Baptist been partially manifested, yet it has 
not yet fully come, and will not, till the " King- 
doms of this world are become the Kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ;"* then, the Noble- 
man gone into a far country will return, and 
then, in a full and complete sense, shall the decla- 
ration be fulfilled : " I will drink it new with you, 
in my Father's Kingdom." f 1 

* Rev. xi. 15. 

f The population of the world being, as is supposed, about 
800,000,000: of these about 600,000,000 are Pagans and Ma- 
hometans, and of the rest, professedly Christian, in Europe only 
about 50,000,000 it is computed are Protestant. " In France, 
it has been stated, that out of 32,000,000 of its inhabitants, 
25,000,000 have never seen the outside of a Bible ; and, that 
in Spain, out of a population of 10,000,000 : 9,000,000 and 
three-fourths have never seen any part of the Word of God 
in their own tongue."* Truly, "the Kingdom," after a lapse of 
near 2,000 years, is not yet come ! 1 Luke xix. 12. 

* Bickersteth's Promised Glory. 



A PLEDGE OF THE LORD'S EETIRX. 



117 



(d.) The Period alluded to in the expression. 
" that day/' calls also our attention to a time yet 
future. It appears very like the phrase so com- 
monly used; especially by Isaiah and Zechariah, 
with a view of designating a period yet to be 
disclosed. Xor, if we are right in giving the 
term this meaning, is this the only time it is used 
in the New Testament. Our Lord himself thus 
applies it to his second coming, " Of that day and 
hour knoweth no man. 55 * And again, " It shall 
be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for 
that City."f So, St. Paul, also, " That thing 
which I have committed unto Him, against that 
dayP% And again, " that he may find mercy in 
that dayP% And again, u A crown of glory which 
the Lord shall give me at that day"\\ So, also, in 
the Book of Revelation, " That great day of God 
Almighty."^" In each of these cases the context 
fixes the sense to the second coming of Christ, 
which is, we contend, when it stands by itself, the 
emphatic and proper meaning of the phrase. In 
this sense, Zechariah, in the conclusion of his pro- 
phecies in the three last chapters, which refer to 
events yet future, uses the ternr, emphatically, about 

* Matt. xxiv. 36. f Luke x. 12. compared with 14. 
% 2 Tim. i. 12. § 2 Tim. i. 18. \\ 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
% Rev. xvi. 14. 



118 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



twelve times.* So, also, do other prophets, as 
Joel,f and Amos,J and especially, Isaiah, in one 
prophecy § repeats the expression six times, as 
referring to the future destinies of his people. 

When, therefore, we find our Lord himself 
applying, as above, the term in question to the 
future ; when the Apostles use the same phrase- 
ology in speaking of the second Advent ; when, 
I say, we thus find in the New Testament the 
language of the Prophets adopted to point to 
events , to which, in the same language, they direct 
our attention, we may infer, that our Lord, in 
using the expression, " that day," had in view the 
same period to which Prophets, Apostles, and He 
himself, elsewhere, by the same phrase, had directed 
the minds of the faithful. 

(#.) There is yet one other point in the phraseology 
of the text, which goes to establish the interpretation 
contended for. It is the Expression " new." " Till 
I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." 

* Zech. xiii. 1. " In that day there shall be a fountain 
opened," &c., is no valid objection to this interpretation. 
The fountain has been, and is, effectually opened to the 
election both of Jew and Gentile; but "in that day," namely, 
when these things come to pass, it shall effectually purge, 
not merely an election, but David's family and Jerusalem's 
inhabitants. 

f Joel iii. 18. J Amos ix. 11. § Is. xxiv. to xxvii. 



A PLEDGE OF THE LORD'S RETURN. 119 

NoWj observe how exactly tMs agrees with the 
language of the Prophets, both of the Old and 
New Testament^ when they bring before ns the 
felicities of a future age. In the xcvith and 
xcviiith Psalms, which, with those before and after 
the ancient Jews referred (and from their internal 
evidence, rightly referred) to the times of Messiah, 
the Psalmist exclaims, " Sing unto the Lord a new 
song."* In Isaiah it is written, " I create new 
heavens and a neiv earth."f In Ezekiel, " the 
trees which grow beside the river which proceeds 
from the Sanctuary bring forth new fruit.' '% In 
Joel, it is predicted, " in that day, the mountains 
shall drop down new wine."§ And Amos also, 
" The mountains shall drop sweet, or new wine."|| 
In the prophetic language of the New Testament,, 
the term is also thus introduced : — " We, accord- 
ing to his promise, look for a new heavens and a 
new earth ;"^[ and in the Revelation of St. John, 
" They sing a new song and, " I saw a new 
heaven and a new earth," — And, " I John saw 
the holy City, the new Jerusalem — And, " Be- 
hold, I make all things new" Additional light is 
also thrown upon our text by " the Regeneration" 

* So also Psalm cxlix. Each of these are Psalms of Judg- 
ment, and so refer to the future. 

f Is. lxv. 17. % Ez. xlvii. 12. 

§ Joel iii. 18. || Amos ix. 13. \ 2 Peter iii. 13. 



120 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



of which our Lord speaks, and by that " destitu- 
tion of all things/' noticed by St. Peter.* 

There is, then, from the agreement of this part 
also of the phraseology of the text with the pro- 
phetic language of Scripture, an additional argu- 
ment that our Lord, in using the expression, "new" 
meant to call the attention of his disciples to a 
state of the Church yet to be revealed. 

Wherefore, in regard to the only four interpre- 
tations of the text which have been ever given, 
from the whole of this part of our subject, we 
conclude that — Since the words of our Lord have 
received their fulfilment Neither in the period 
between his resurrection and ascension, Nor in any 
change of the Passover into the Lord's Supper, 
Nor in the Lord's Supper itself — Moreover, since the 
interpretation of the text, as relating only to the 
future, fully agrees with each particular mentioned 
by our Lord, both as to its Festive Nature, Persons, 
State, Period, and Newness — this, and this only, 
we conclude to be the true and sufficient explana- 
tion of the passage, and as such we trust that it is 
established.f 

II. Having thus, it is hoped, cleared away diffi- 
culties we shall be in a condition in which we 



* As to whether the term drinking wine may be taken 
literally, see Note A. f Acts iii. 21. 



A PLEDGE OE THE LORD'S RETURN. 121 



could not otherwise have been, to show how the 
Lord's Supper is " an Assurance and Pledge of 
our Lord's Return." 

1. This view of the subject, as far as its being 
an Assurance of the second Advent is concerned, 
is closely connected with the interpretation above 
given of our text, on which account we have been 
the more careful in its examination. 

The passage, however, above quoted, from the 
1st Epistle to the Corinthians — " As oft as ye eat 
this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the 
Lord's death till he come,"* fully confirms this 
view of the Eucharist. It is because there were 
difficulties connected with our text, that, in prefer- 
ence, it was selected. The Scriptures do not speak 
frequently of the Lord's Supper, but the contrary, f 
In the two places, however, where it is doctrinally 
noticed, viz., in the Institution of the Ordinance 
in the Gospel, and in the Reformation of the same 
in the Epistle to the Corinthians, in both these 
places the subject is connected with the Second 
Advent. There is a threefold view which the 

* Chapter xi. 

f It is remarkable that, but for the abuses existing in the 
Church at Corinth, no mention, it appears, would have been 
made of the Eucharist in the Epistles. This is significant. 
But how little has the proportion of apostolic teaching been 
observed in the professing Church universal in an undue 
exaltation of this sacrament ! 

G 



122 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



Scriptures give of this Ordinance. For the Past, 
it is a Commemoration ; for the Present, a Com- 
munion; for the Future, an Assurance and Pledge.* 
That it is an assurance of the Second Advent, the 
exposition of our text, as above given, as well as the 
words of St. Paul have, we trust, proved. We shall 
not, therefore, enlarge on that point ; but now — 

2d. Show that the Lord's Supper is, further, a 
Pledge of the Lord's Return. 

Its great suitability in this respect will be seen 
in the following particulars : — 

(a.) In its Nature. The Lord's Supper is a Feast. 
And what a Festival will that be, when all the 
Sons of God are united at their Father's table ! A 
Feast also implies several particulars. For example — 

It is Social. The Eucharist is not a solitude, 
but a Communion. There the Children of the 
Kingdom meet together. So in the Future. The 
New Jerusalem is a City, a Community. There 
will be no isolation, no monasticism, no hermits 
there. All will be social, and warm, and glowing 
with fervent love and sweetest intercourse amongst 
the Saints, 

" In solemn troops and sweet societies 
That sing, and singing in their glory move, "f 

* See a tract by the Writer, entitled the " Sacrament of 
the Lord's Supper." Seeley. 
f Lycidas. 



A PLEDGE OF THE LOHD's RETURN. 123 



Security is also implied by a Feast, And how 
entire the security of the glorified Church, when in 
the immediate presence of her King, He shall finally, 
and for ever, have bruised Satan under her feet ! 

Yet once more. Repose follows on security. 
In that eternal festival, when the full triumphs of 
redemption shall be disclosed and applied, what 
tongue can tell the depth of that tranquillity, the 
profoundness of that repose which shall be then 
enjoyed ! Believer, is thy way now wearisome, 
and thy heart sad ? Do doubts and fears harass 
and distress thy soul ? Be encouraged. These all 
shall have with thee a speedy and a happy end. An 
undisturbed repose awaits thee, an abiding rest. 
In every perplexity and trial, set it fully before 
thee, and remember, " there remaineth a rest for 
the people of God." 

(5.) Look, in the next place, at the Provisions set 
before us hi the Eucharist, and see how suitable a 
Pledge are they of a returning Saviour. Bread 
and Trine are the institution of our Lord. How 
lively are these Pledges ! Taking them in his 
hands, the Believer may exclaim, " Here do I see 
and possess a sure earnest of future joy, I see, I 
touch, I taste. Xot only have I the word of pro- 
mise, but in great condescension my Saviour has 
submitted to my senses, the foretaste of joys un- 
seen." With lively emotion, the Christian receives 

g 2 



124 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



these divinely-appointed tokens. In them, by 
faith, he feeds on an absent Saviour, and bis soul 
enjoys an antepast of the future. There is nothing 
in those elements distasteful. There will be 
nothing in those joys which they represent to cause 
alloy. On the contrary, as this earthly repast is 
ever delightful both to body and soul, so unfading 
pleasures, at the Lord's return, await in her glori- 
fied humanity the risen and raptured Church. 
As this earthly repast satisfies, so shall the heavenly 
banquet afford a deep and full sufficiency. And, 
as these sacred elements, by their innate power, 
exhilarate the natural man, and, by faith., delight 
the spiritual, so, in the Antitype, shall there be 
both to body and soul joys unfading, and pleasures 
which shall not know decay. 

(c.) In the Continuance of this Divine institution, 
we see again, how suitable a Pledge it becomes 
to Believers of the certainty of the Lord's return. 
Has this Christian festival, during the vicissitudes 
and persecutions of nearly two thousand years, 
fulfilled the appointment of its Founder ? Has 
his Word in it been established ; and are Believers 
thereby, yet " shewing the Lord's death until He 
come ?" Then, surely, his Word in other respects 
shall receive its accomplishment. Then, surely, 
He will come, as He has promised, and His people 
" shall drink new wine with Him in His Father's 



A PLEDGE OF THE LOBJTS RETURN. 



125 



Kingdom.*' They " shall eat and drink with Him 
at his table, in his Kingdom ;" " Everlasting joy- 
shall crown their heads ; they shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."* 
His word is sure. His ordinances, whether of 
creation, or of gr ace, are established. " He hath 
given them a law which shall not be broken." 
And the Believer receiving into his body, and 
there safely hiding these precious tokens of the 
redemption of his soul, waits with confidence for 
the redemption of his body, and sees in them most 
sure and certain Pledges of his Lord's return. 

Believer, be stedfast, unmoveabie, always looking 
for, and hastening unto the day of God. In pa- 
tience possess thy soul. Let nothing move thee, 
for He is faithful who has called thee, who also 
will do it. Amongst the faithless be thou faithful. 
His Word cannot fail. He waits : do thou wait 
for Him ; remembering the Divine oracle, " It is 
good for a man that he both hope and quietly wait 
for the salvation of the Lord."f 

(d.) The Guests, who are alone truly partakers of 
the Lord's Supper, shew again, how suitable is the 
Pledge. For who are they who shall be then 
admitted to His presence ? They are the Saved, 
the Holy, the Happy. And who but these, now, 
in a greater or less degree, are real partakers of 
* Is. xxxv. t Lam. iii. 



126 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



the table of the Lord ? None but such are the 
Guests whom the Lord there entertains. These are 
saved from their sins; for to them He has been 
made through the Spirit, Jesus, a Saviour. The 
guilt of sin in them He has removed through his 
atonement. The power of sin He has broken 
through his Spirit. 

And because they are saved they are Holy. 
The same Spirit of holiness works in them to the 
sanctification of body, soul, and spirit, and so fits 
them for the Saviour's presence. 

And, because holy, therefore are they Happy. 
Happy in being first reconciled to God by their 
sins being blotted out, and then in having the 
fruits of that reconciliation, even the influence of 
the Spirit, shed abroad in their hearts. They 
have "joy and peace in believing." They " rejoice 
in hope of the glory of God." And, thus, in their 
Salvation, Holiness, and Happiness, they form an 
apt representation of that Church which, perfected 
in body and soul, the Lord shall take to Himself 
" at his appearing." 

(#.) Catholicity is another manner in which the 
Supper of the Lord becomes a Pledge to Believers 
of the Second Advent. 

All the Church is made partaker of this Ordi- 
nance. It is open to Believers. — To them only, 
And to each and all of them. Thus it is Catholic 



A PLEDGE OF THE LORD'S RETURN. 127 



to the Church, Exclusive to the World. So will it 
be as to the Future. There shall be an exclusion 
of all the Tricked; an admission of all the righteous. 
TJiey, They only — And each and all of them shall 
be admitted to the Saviour's presence. Not one 
of them shall be wanting. Their names have been 
"written in the Lamb's book of life from the 
foundation of the world/' Their place He has 
prepared, and it cannot be vacant. They are 
members of his body, without whom (the least of 
them) that body would be maimed and incomplete. 
All j All shall appear at the appointed time, and 
each assist to make up the perfect symmetry, and 
exact proportion of that Catholic assembly, which 
in full perfection and harmonious order, shall 
through eternity show forth the praises of Him^ 
who, before the foundation of the world, ordained 
it to the praise of the glory of his grace. 

(f.) There is only one other particular which I 
shall notice. It is this — 

In the Eucharist, the people of God enjoy His 
spiritual presence. At " his coming and his king- 
dom " they shall possess his personal presence; 
they " shall see Him as He is." Now we walk by 
faith; but then, through sight and fruition, faith 
shall be brought to its close. The present is a dis- 
pensation of faith. Ours is a "life of faith/' a 
" walk of faith ;" it is " the word of faith ; ' which 



128 the lord's supper 



we preach, and " a death of faith " which we die.* 
But that will be a dispensation of sight. We shall 
see Him " whom having not seen we love." Oh, 
beatific vision! Oh, joy unutterable, of seeing 
the glory of God! " They shall see his face, and 
they shall follow the Lamb whithersoever He 
goeth." Even so, blessed Jesus, come to thy ex- 
pecting Church, soon clothe us u with our house 
from heaven, 5 ' that these bodies being changed we 
may put on our " spiritual body." So shall we 
be conformed to the likeness of thy glory. So, 
" waking up after thy likeness, we shall be 
satisfied with it." And thus, we who see Thee 
now by faith, " shall have our perfect consumma- 
tion and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy 
eternal and everlasting glory." 
Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

Thus, in these several particulars, have we 
shown the Lord's Supper to be a " Pledge of the 
Lord's Return," as well as an Assurance thereof. 

And may this delightful view of the subject be 
in its reception a means of quickening the faith 
and hope of the People of God. 

III. We now conclude with some Remarks 
naturally arising from our subject. 

* Heb. xi. 13. 



A PLEDGE Ox THE LORD'S RETURN. 



129 



1. How Extensive^ "both, as to time, circum- 
stances^ and effects, is the ordinance of the Lord's 
Supper. It regards the Past, the Present, the 
Future. It is a Memorial, a Communion, a Pledge, 
of full and final salvation. Here the Atonement, 
the Intercession, the return of the Lord, are pre- 
sented to the eye of faith; and in this comprehen- 
sive institution the Believer has displayed to 
his wondering sold the extended riches of re- 
demption. 

For the Past, He remembers the promise of 
" the seed of the woman," the types, the prophe- 
cies, the incarnation, the words of grace, i( neither 
do I condemn thee," " thy sins be forgiven thee/' 
" she hath done what she could." He remembers 
the agony, the shame, the cross. For the Present 
the Believer enjoys communion with his risen and 
ascended Lord, both in His divine and human 
nature. And for the Future, in the Eucharist 
he possesses an earnest of the Lord's return. 
Whilst, as to the Effects of the Institution, to his 
soul it is a means of grace, and to his body a means 
of communion with Christ's exalted humanity 5 
so that " our sinful bodies are made clean by his 
body." And thus for both we are able to receive 
and apply that form of sound words — " The body 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for 
thee," and " the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
g3 



130 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



which, was shed for thee, preserve thy body and 
soul unto everlasting life."* 

2. How abundant is the love and wisdom of 
Christ to his Church hi this Institution. He will 
have her constantly looking to Him and waiting for 
his return. Hence, He takes those means which 
are most effective to quicken her faith and hope. 
She is prone to forget Him, and here He calls her 
to remembrance. Or, does she languish for his 
presence, saying, " Oh, that I knew where I might 
find Him ?" Here, He grants himself to her vows. 
Here, He brings her " into his banqueting house." 
Here, she sits down under his shadow with great 
delight ; and here, He enables her to say, u I have 
found Him whom my soul loveth." And thus the 
soul possesses an earnest of His full and perpetual 
presence in eternity. 

O Believer, admire the riches of his wisdom, the 
overflowings of his love towards thee. He has not 
left thee without witness, and that which He hath 
appointed thee is precisely that which is most suited 
to thy state. Thou art weak; here is strength. 
Thou art disconsolate ; here is consolation. Thou 
art lonely ; here is communion. Thou art waiting ; 
here is the earnest of his eternal presence. Does 
weariness oppress thee ? Behold refreshment. Does 
thirst assail thee ? Behold the cup of salvation. 
* Note B. 



A PLEDGE OF THE LORD'S RETURN. 131 



Or, dost thou hunger ? Lo, He prepareth a table 
before thee. See, then, and enjoy his abounding 
goodness; and (i eat, O, Friends, yea, chink abun- 
dantly/' even with Him who " feedeth among the 
lilies," and who is our C£ Beloved and our Friend." 
Jesus, we see Thee now by faith; let us soon be- 
hold thee as thou art, in all thy glorious perfections. 

3. Further, Observe, that in such a repast there 
can be nothing sad or dolorous. This is not 3, fast, 
but a feast; and thus we are exhorted to " take 
this holy Sacrament to our comfort" There is often 
great error here. The whole character of the 
Lord's Supper is constantly mistaken, and that, even 
by the Saints. Satan has great power hi this. 
That sweet and heavenly repast is looked upon as 
something " awful." There is some undefined 
terror and fear connected with it. It is approached, 
less as a festival than as a funeral ; and that which 
is a cup of salvation is received with a trembling 
hand, as though it were a cup of condemnation. 
God is not honoured in this; it is not the " spirit 
of bondage " and of fear, which his people have 
received, but, the Spirit of adoption. This Ordi- 
nance is to be approached with reverence, but not 
with alarm. It is a Father's table, to which his 
children, his reconciled children, are invited to 
come. They are the pardoned who meet here, in 
anticipation of their Lord's return. They are 



132 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



children, not slaves. Let them, then, not dishonour 
that table by a servile spirit, for " they have bold- 
ness to enter into the holiest by the blood of 
Jesus."* 

Approach, therefore, O, believer, with confi- 
dence, these patterns of the " holiest." Art thou 
not justified ? Is not thine iniquity pardoned? And 
does not the blood of Jesus cleanse from all sin ? 
See, then, thy standing ; humbly, yet confidently 
assume thy privilege ; for, in thy felicity Christ is 
well pleased ; and, in thy comfort and enlargement 
the Redeemer sees of the travail of his soul. It is 
?ifiill salvation which Christ has purchased ; and 
it is to thy comfort, and his honour, that thou 
shouldest fully in joy be made partaker of it. 

4. Again : If the Lord's Supper be, as we have 
considered it, a feast for believers, and a Pledge of 
their Lord's return, it follows that they will desire its 
frequent celebration. If it be a means of grace, 
and an assurance of the coming of Him whom they 
so earnestly and fully love, they will, of course, 
constantly desire that, in which they see so lively 
an earnest of his coming. Yes ; the administra- 
tion of the Eucharist should be frequent, that 
believers may have frequent opportunities of com- 
munion with a crucified, a risen, and a coming 
Saviour. And, being frequent, they should lose, 
* Heb. x. 



A PLEDGE OE THE LOKD ? S RETURN. 



133 



if they understand their privilege,, no opportunity 
of sharing its benefits. Here, again, what frequent 
errors occur ! Surely, were the hearts of Iris pro- 
fessing people naming with love to their Lord, 
they would be longing for his return, and constant 
at that Ordinance which in so lively a manner sets 
it forth. But, Alas ! Love is cold. The return 
of the Saviour, consequently, is little sought ; and 
hence, partly arises the cause why so frequently 
the pledge of that epiphany is disregarded. 

O you who bear the name of Christ, remember 
your daily prayer, "thy Kingdom come."' TThat, 
then, if He should presently appear and bring that 
kingdom? Do you " love his appearing?" Do 
you desire that kingdom ? What ! Is it that you 
are drawing nigh unto Him with 'your hps, whilst 
your hearts are far from Him ? Beware, Oh ! 
Beware, lest out of your own mouth He should 
judge you. Consider your ways ; and, ef examine 
yourselves whether ye be in the faith. Prove 
your own selves." 

5. Lastly, what an additional motive to holiness 
is there to those who observe hi this ordinance the 
pledge of a coming Saviour. You, my friends, 
here perceive, not only a crucified, but a glorified, 
Jesus. Here is an additional call for sanctification. 
You love, and wait, Iris appearing. Now, (i every 
man that hath this hope in Him,.purifieth himself 



134 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 



even as He is pure." Oh ! the spotless purity of 
Christ. Oh ! the holiness which befits his waiting- 
people. " Be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of 
the Lord." Soon, He comes to render unto every 
man according to his works : " With righteous- 
ness shall he judge the earth, and the people with 
equity." Then, it will not be the knowledge of 
those Divine truths, of which we have been speak- 
ing, that will save, but, the fruits of those truths in 
holiness which will be rewarded. It is not the 
sentiment connected with the Lord's coming, the 
poetry, and imagination, allied to that stupendous 
fact, which will benefit, but it is the application of 
the doctrine to the heart, by the power of the 
Holy Ghost, which will save. There are tremen- 
dous realities connected with that event, which 
" will sift the nations with the sieve of vanity," 
and thoroughly separate the chaff from the wheat. 
Nothing short of a real, experimental, acquaintance 
with Christ will stand the test of C( eternal judg- 
ment." Then, Believers will be made manifest 
that they are of God. Then, Professors will too 
late perceive the difference between the form and 
the poiver of godliness. Let, then, the self- 
deceived be undeceived. But, let the just Ones 
be in their " path, as the shining light, which 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 
Soon that day in its unutterable splendour shall 



A PLEDGE OF THE LORD'S RETURN. 135 



burst upon us. Ere long, the " Dayspring from 
on high" shall visit us, and on a benighted world 
pour all the splendour of his presence. Soon shall 
we " see the heavens opened, and the Angels of 
God ascending and descending on the Son of man." 
For, " behold, the tabernacle of God shall be with 
men, and He will dwell with them. And there 
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying ; 
neither shall there be any more pain." 

Wherefore, animated by such hope, persevere, 
O Christian, in well-doing, even to the end. We 
know in whom we have believed. " He is faithful 
that promised," and, " in due time we shall reap, 
if we faint not." " Therefore," my beloved Bre- 
thren, " be ye stedfast, immoveable, always 
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as 
ye know that your labour is not in vain in the 
Lord." 



Note A. 

The exposition of the text would be deficient did we not 
inquire whether our Lord may be understood as asserting 
that He will literally drink wine with his disciples in a future 
state. 

. Our belief concerning our own bodies is, that, after death, 
the same bodies will rise, though glorious and spiritual. They 
will, therefore, still be material; even as the Patriarch Job 



136 



THE LORD'S SUPPER^ 



says, " in my flesh I shall see God." There must, conse- 
quently, be some material place appointed for their habitation 
and enjoyment, suited to their then superior condition. Bishop 
Horne somewhere says, u the idea which some persons form 
of heaven is, sitting on a bare cloud and singing Hallelujah!" 
" Let us, however," says the author of the " Natural History 
of Enthusiasm/' " try to persuade ourselves that the future 
and unseen world is as simply natural and true, as is this 
homely world of land and water, trees and houses, with which 
we have to do."* " It consists," says Dr. Chalmers, " with 
all we know of God's administration, that materialism shall 
be perpetuated in the full bloom and vigour of immortality. 
We hail the information, (contained in the passage below 
quoted,) that, instead of being transported to some abode of 
dimness and of mystery, so remote from human experience 
as to be beyond all comprehension, we shall walk for ever 
in a land replenished with those sensible delights, and those 
sensible glories, which, we doubt not, will be most profusely 
scattered over the ' new heavens, and the new earth, wherein 
dwelleth righteousness.' "f 

Thus, the Scriptures reveal materialism as connected both 
with our bodies and our residence in a future state. Now, 
what is our belief respecting the body of Christ ? We believe 
that " Christ took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all 
things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature ; where- 
with He ascended into heaven, and there sitteth, until He 
return to judge all men, at the last day. "J Thus, we believe, 
also, in the materialism of Christ's present human nature. 
Now, if in glorified materialism the Lord and his saints are, 
as we further believe, hereafter, to meet together, why may 
not the text be literally understood that they may eat and 
drink together ? Angels, with whom we are wont to asso- 
ciate less of materialism, have eaten and drank. § So did the 

* " Physical Theory of Another Life." P. 228. 

f Discourse on 2 Pet. iii. 13. % Article iv, 

$ Gen. xviii. and xix. 



A PLEDGE OE THE LORD'S RETURN. 137 

Lord before He ascended, though, of course, then He was not 
in His glorified body. The words of our Lord are very plain. 
" Till I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." 
So in St. Luke, " That ye may eat and drink at my table in 
my kingdom." ft These declarations are in unison with each 
other, and not without great violence and contradiction to the 
plain meaning of terms, to be otherwise than literally under- 
stood. It is to be expected that Christ will again eat and 
drink with his Apostles, under some circumstances or other, 
in the kingdom of the Father, when it arrives."* 

The writer, in conclusion, would not be understood as attach- 
ing any particular importance to this part of the subject. It is 
only of consequence as " tending to bring our religious concep- 
tions into definite alliance with the real world, and with 
nature, and to break up a little those vague and powerless 
notions, which place our religious expectations at a dim 
remoteness from whatever is substantial and effective. "f 

XOTE B. 

The sacraments do not give faith, but confirm it. There 
must, first, be faith, else a Sacrament is to the receiver no 
Sacrament at all. This is always pre-supposed. Thus, our 
Church, " to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive 
the same." And again, in the same Twenty-eighth Article, 
" The mean whereby the body of Christ is received, and 
eaten in the Supper is faith.'' Thus, faith actually existing 
before the ordinance being received is increased thereby. 
Whence, it is asserted, that by the Sacraments God 
" strengthens and confirms our faith in Him." (Art. 25.) 
And, " Faith is confirmed, and grace increased by virtue of 
prayer unto God." (Art. 27.) Whence it follows that the 
Sacraments do not give grace, much less justify; but, that a 
believer being already by faith justified, comes to these ordi- 
nances for increase of Grace. 

* Greswell on the Parables, v. 1. pp. 211. 212, 
f Physical Theory, p. 227. 



LECTURE VI. 



THE JOY OF THE FAITHFUL MINISTER AT 
CHRIST'S COMING. 



BY THE REV. T. S. GRIMSHAWE, M.A. 

RECTOR OF BIDDENHAM, BEDS. 



1 Peter V. 1. 

" When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye 
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
away." 

The doctrine of the Second Advent, or coming of 
Christ, has now been so much discussed in preced- 
ing lectures, that on the present occasion I do not 
feel called upon to enter into that question ; more 
especially as the main object of this discourse is 
the joy of the faithful minister at the coming of 
Christ, and not the consideration of the coming 
itself. 

My earnest prayer is, that while we are engaged 
in the discussion of subjects of such high moment, 
and where it is so possible to err, we may be 



THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY, ETC. 139 

endued with the spirit of wisdom, and a sound 
mind ; be kept from all rash interpretations of 
prophecy, and avoid entering upon too much 
minuteness of detail. The frame of mind most 
suitable in such an undertaking, is that which is 
inculcated in the words addressed to Moses, on 
the Mount : " Put off thy shoes from off thy 
feet ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy 
ground." * 

May the Divine blessing, then, rest upon us 
while we endeavour to describe — 

The joy of the faithful minister at Christ's 
coming. 

Faithful is a term used in Scripture to denote 
an attribute and qualification that is intended to be 
the symbol and pledge of every other. All is 
included within the range of its comprehensive 
meaning. Thus it is said of Moses, that he was 
" faithful to him that appointed him ;"f of Daniel, 
66 they could find none occasion nor fault ; foras- 
much as he was faithful." % St. Paul observes, 
" Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man 
be found faithful." § It is remarked of Timothy, that 
he was " faithful in the Lord."|| The great apostle 
of the Gentiles, also, in reference to his own minis- 

* Exod. iii. 5. f Heb. iii. 2. J Dan, vi. 4. 

§ 1 Cor. iv. 2. [| 1 Cor. vi. 17. 



140 



THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



terial character, declares that lie had " obtained 
mercy of the Lord to be faithful."* 

But to enter more largely into the question, let 
us ask j what is implied by the faithful minister of 
Christ? 

I know not any subject of deeper importance 
than such an inquiry at the present moment, when 
the revival of piety in our Church is contemplated, 
among some of its members, by means which, in 
the judgment of reflecting and enlightened minds, 
can never be effected by such instrumentality. 
It is not by the removal of ancient land-marks, 
and depreciating the venerable names of Cranmer, 
Latimer, Ridley, Jewel, and Hooper, (names long 
enshrined in the memory of the wise and good, 
and pillars in the Protestant Church of these 
realms,) that we are likely to advance the cause of 
truth, however enforced by zeal, and recommended 
by devotedness. JSTor is it by a reference to the 
Fathers, and to tradition, that such an end is to be 
accomplished. These are the subordinate, but not 
primary sources of interpretation ; and then only 
so far good, as they are confirmed by the concur- 
ring authority of Scripture. Our appeal must be 
made to a higher standard, " To the law and to the 
testimony : if they speak not according to this word, 
* 1 Cor. vii. 25. 



at Christ's coming. 



141 



it is because there is no light in them"* It is not 
sufficient that a minister be devotional in his spirit, 
zealous in Lis work, and without reproach in his 
external conduct. There may be u a zeal/' but 
" not according to knowledge ; " reverence for the 
forms, without the power and vitality of religion ; 
sparks, but those of our own ldndling;f the law 
and the Gospel neither properly understood, nor 
enforced to their respective ends and purposes ; 
the cross of Christ, but not Christ upon the cross. 

What then is it that constitutes the character of 
the faithful minister of Christ? 

He must be able to appeal to higher credentials 
than those which we have just enumerated. He 
must be " sound in the faith ec in doctrine un- 
corrupt ;" " holding fast the form of sound words." 
There can be no sound piety without sound doc- 
trine." " Yea, rather," says one of the articles of 
our Church, "for that they are not done (viz. 
works), as God hath willed and commanded them 
to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature 

* Isaiah viii. 20. 

f The whole of the passage to which reference is here 
made, strongly demands our attention : " Behold, all ye that 
kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks : 
walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have 
kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand ; ye shall lie down 
in sorrow." (Isaiah 1. 11.) 



142 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 

of sin. 55 * What this doctrine is, the apostle him- 
self informs ns : " We preach Christ Jesns the 
Lord, and ourselves your servants for Christ's sake. 55 
" Other foundation can no man lay than that which 
is laid, Jesus Christ, and him crucified;" and he 
adds, " though we or an angel from heaven preach 
any other doctrine, let him be accursed." This 
language evidently comprehends the whole system 
of man's fall and recovery, — free justification by 
faith, through the atoning blood and righteousness 
of Christ ; together with the gracious operations of 
the Divine Spirit, in all its enlightening, convert- 
ing, and sanctifying influences. 

On the subject of the great doctrine of justifica- 
tion by faith only, emphatically called " the article 
of a standing or failing Church;" and without the 
knowledge of which no minister of Christ is entitled 
to the appellation of "faithful" I beg to quote 
the expressive words of Bishop Horsley : " That 
man is justified by faith," he observes, "without 
the works of the law, was the uniform doctrine of 
the first Reformers. It is a far more ancient doc- 
trine. It was the doctrine of the whole col- 
lege of apostles. It is more ancient still. It 
was the doctrine of the prophets. It is older 



* See Article 13th of the Church of England. 



at Christ's coming. 



143 



than the prophets. It was the religion of the 
patriarchs."* 

Oh ! that the precious truths of the Gospel may 
be "the weapons of our warfare" in the Divine 
science of saying immortal souls. It is the ever- 
lasting Gospel that is God's appointed way, and 
which he will alone honour with his blessing. It is 
this which is " the ministration of the Spirit/' and 
" mighty through God to the pulling down of strong 
holds : casting down imaginations, and every high 
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of 
God, and bringing into captivity every thought to 
the obedience of Christ." f 

Christ, then, and his Gospel, are the great 
theme of the faithful minister; and the love of 
Christ that part of it on which he most delights 
to dwell. In proclaiming his message, he takes 
care himself to feed on the heavenly manna before 
he administers it to others, and never presumes 
that he can be an instrument for converting his 
flock, unless he is first converted himself. His 
heart is in his work. His manner, deportment, 
habits, and sentiments, are befitting his sacred 
office. Like the apostle, he goes " from house to 
house," trying to win the affections of his people, 
that he may better succeed in winning their souls. 

* See the Charges of Bishop Horsley. 
f 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. 



144 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 

His closet is his second sanctuary , where he prays 
and intercedes for his beloved charge, and gains 
fresh supplies for the ensuing Sabbath. His great 
object is, to be ec free from the blood of all men;" 
to " study to show himself approved unto God ; a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed." It is 
by the happy union of these several offices that he 
becomes ce a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and 
meet for the master's use;" and thus the souls 
that seem to be withheld from the preacher are 
sometimes found to be granted to the prayers of 
the closet, and to the zeal, the love, and even to the 
tears of the pastor. 

Finally, his life is a life of truth and holiness ; 
his end is peace, his hope is heaven, and his 
memorial may be found in the following words : 
" The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity 
was not found in his lips : he walked with me in 
peace and equity, and did turn many away from 
iniquity." * 

I now proceed to consider more particularly the 
joy of the faithful minister at Christ's coming. 
This joy may be described as resulting : 

1st. From the event itself, and from the design 
and circumstances of that event. 

The whole creation is represented by St. Paul 
as looking forward with intense anxiety and expec- 
* Mai. ii. 5, 6. 



at Christ's coming. 



145 



tation to this long wished for period, as the signal 
of its deliverance, and of *' the glory that shall be 
revealed." cc The whole creation/*' he observes, 
t€ groaneth and travaileth in pain together until 
now : And not only they, but ourselves also, which 
have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves 
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, 
to wit, the redemption of our body. 5 '* 

The whole creation, that is, man, the intelligent 
part of it, — the inferior or brute creation, and the 
general framework and organization of nature. 
All mankind labour under the consciousness of a 
misery from which there is no escape. Xo wis- 
dom, nor power, nor philosophy, can reverse it, 
because it is interwoven with the very constitution 
of our being — the appointed order of tilings ; the 
penalty of the first man's disobedience. It is the 
same with the brute creation, over which the sove- 
reignty was sriven to man that he might exercise it 
not wrongfully, but like God, in mere v. The 
physical world utters the same cry, and bears the 
same testimony. The order and harmony of nature 
is impaired. The storms and tempests that deform 
the skv, the inward fires that convulse the earth, 
the terrible earthquakes that entomb cities in their 
abyss, the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and 
the sickness that destroveth at noon-dav, all denote 
* Rom. viii. 22 5 23. 
H 



146 



THE. FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



the fall and guilt of man, and the truth, of the 
primeval curse. Even the children of God, emi- 
nently favoured as they are in having " the first- 
fruits of the Spirit/' and enjoying much of his 
peace and presence in the soul, still feel the work- 
ings of indwelling sin, and are subject to like 
trials and infirmities with others. They are often 
reminded that this is not their rest. Thus the 
patriarchs confessed that they were cc strangers and 
pilgrims on the earth," and desired tc a better 
country, that is an heavenly/' " a city which hath 
foundations, whose builder and maker is God."* 
David also exclaims, "when shall I come, and 
appear before God ?"f u The souls of them that 
were slain for the Word of God, and for the testi- 
mony which they held," are represented, " under 
the altar," as crying u with a loud voice, saying, 
How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not 
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on 
the earth? "J With what repose and delight, then, 
does the heart turn to the dawn of that glorious 
day, when the throes of creation shall cease, and 
the coming of Christ shall be the signal for making 
" all things new." When there shall be no cloud 
to intercept the full light of glorious day, no care 
to corrode the heart, no bereavement to call forth 

* Heb. xi. 10, 13, 16. f Ps. xlii. 2. 

X Rev. vi. 10. 



AT CHKIST'S COMING. 



147 



the sigh, no sickness to consume the body, nor sin 
to corrupt the soul. " And God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more 
deaths neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain, for the former things are 
passed away."* 

But it is the investiture of Christ in the full 
rights and privileges of his everlasting kingdom, 
that gives to his coming its character of deep 
interest and grandeur : u And I saw heaven 
opened, and behold a white horse ; and he that 
sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in 
righteousness he doth judge and make war. His 
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were 
many crowns ; and he had a name written, that 
no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed 
with a vesture dipped in blood : and his name is 
called The AVord of God. And the armies which 
were in heaven followed him upon white horses, 
clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out 
of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he 
should smite the nations : and he shall rule them 
with a rod of iron : and he treadeth the wine-mess 
of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a 
name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." f 
This representation may be partly figurative, but 
* Rev. xxi. 4. f Rev. xix. 

H 2 



148 



THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



in its main features it partakes more of the character 
of a real narrative of facts, than of the language 
of symbolical imagery. It coincides with the cele- 
brated Vision of Daniel : " And behold, one like 
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, 
and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought 
him near before him. And there was given him 
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 
nations, and languages, should serve him : his 
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall 
not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall 
not be destroyed."* There is a similar passage, 
also referring to the same time and occasion, in 
Revelation : 66 Behold, he cometh with clouds ; 
and every eye shall see him, and they also which 
pierced him : and all kindreds of the earth shall 
wail because of him."f Alas ! how little has the 
Church yet seen of the glories of Christ's kingdom, 
and of his conquests over sin and Satan ! How 
often is the Christian minister constrained to 
exclaim, " who hath believed our report, and to 
whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ?"J 
With what unblushing effrontery does Socinianism 
announce its lectures, § and the malignant spirit 
of Infidelity try to propagate its soul-destroying 

* Dan. vii. 13, 14. f Rev. i. 7. J Isa. liii. 1. 

§ Advertisements of this kind recently appeared in the 
public papers. 



at Christ's coming. 



149 



tenets ! " The God of this world" still continues 
to blind " the minds of them which believe not, 
lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, 
who is the image of God, should shine unto 
them."* 

With what joy, then, will the faithful servant of 
Christ welcome the glorious appearing of his Lord 
and Master; prepared at length to vindicate his 
authority, to repay vengeance to his adversaries, 
to rectify all the dark and mysterious dispensations 
of his Providence, and invested with the title of 
King of kings, and Lord of lords, coming to reign 
over a conquered and a ransomed world. 

But secondly, 

It is the glory and presence of Christ that will 
form the chief feature, as it will also constitute the 
chief joy of this great event. 

The glory of Christ may be considered to be 
that which he has in common with the eternal 
Godhead of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit. 
It is referred to in John xvii. 5, " And now, O 
Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with 
the glory which I had with thee before the icorld 
was." It is, however, the Divine attributes, as 
illustrated in the great work of redemption, that 
will give to them their fullest harmony and 
splendour; and it is the contemplation of this 
* 2 Cor. iv. 4„ 



150 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 

glory, and their own participation in it, that will 
be the unceasing employment of glorified spirits in 
heaven. 

Such was the prayer of Christ in that impressive 
series of petitions recorded in John xvii. 24: 
" Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast 
given me, be with me where I am; that they may 
behold my glory." So also in Col. iii. 4 : " When 
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye 
also appear with him in glory." And again, in 
the words of the text : " When the Chief Shep- 
herd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of 
glory that fadeth not away." 

What this glory is, it is impossible for the finite 
powers of man to comprehend, much less to 
endeavour to describe. Our views are too limited 
and earthly to realize the grandeur of such a 
spectacle. Here we know in part and we see 
in part. There we shall see " face to face," and 
" know even as also we are known. "* Our 
enquiries, however, on so glorious a theme, are in 
some measure aided by what is revealed to us on 
this subject in Scripture. Thus, when Isaiah saw 
the Lord sitting upon his throne, high and lifted 
up, the seraphims are described as veiling their 
faces in humility before him, while the Prophet 
was constrained to exclaim, " Woe is me, I am 
* 1 Cor. xiiL 12. 



at Christ's comixg. 



151 



undone, for mine eyes have seen the King, the 
Lord of hosts."* St. Paul, also, after his vision 
in the third heavens, required the thorn in the 
flesh to mitigate the glory of such a scene. We 
know, also, that St. John was betrayed into an 
act of Divine worship from the effect produced 
by the appearance of the apocalyptic angel. 
Perhaps the transfiguration of Christ on the mount, 
in company with Moses and Elias, is calculated 
to afford us the fullest representation both of the 
glory of Christ and of his glorified saints. The 
vision also unfolded in the heavenly Jerusalem 
further discloses the grandeur of the Divine 
presence. 

" And I saw no temple therein ; for the Lord 
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 
And the city had no need of the sun, neiihen* of the 
moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten 
it, and the Lamb is the light thereof"^ It needs 
not the rays of created light to illuminate those 
boundless regions of everlasting bliss and holiness. 
Unveiled and uncreated glory require no subor- 
dinate means to increase their fulness. " God did 
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof/' 

It seems highly probable that the habitual con- 
templation of this glory of God, and of the Lamb, 
will be accompanied by a powerful reaction on 
* Isaiah vi. 1—5. f Rev. xxi. 22, 23. 



152 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



our own minds. It will awaken correspondent 
feelings, and fill the soul with holy aspirations 
after the same glorious image. In like manner 
as the countenance of Moses shone from the 
reflected glory of God, with a splendour so great 
that the children of Israel were unable to bear it — 
so this habitual beholding of God, and of the 
Lamb, will be the means of imparting continual 
emanations from the same fountain of life and 
glory ; and the soul will be increasingly assimi- 
lated to the same image of holiness, love, and 
blessedness. 66 We all," says the Apostle, " with 
open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory of 
the Lord, are changed into the same image, from 
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."* 
If it be thus on earth, in seeing the reflection only, 
what will be the unceasing contemplation of the 
Divine presence in glory ? 

ce As for me, I will behold thy face in righteous- 
ness. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy 
likeness."* 

Union with Christ will form a never-failing 
source, both of joy and of holiness. If the Apostle 
could exclaim, u to me to live is Christ, and to die 
will be gain;" that gain must evidently imply a 
still more enlarged realization of the same prin- 
ciple, a complete union with Christ as the living 
* 2 Cor. iii. 18. f Psalm xvii. 15. 



at Christ's coming. 153 

Head; and full and everlasting possession. Here 
Christ is enjoyed in the heart by faith, there he 
Trill be known and seen in all the glory of the 
beatific vision. 

3. TJie gathering together in glory of all the 
ransomed Church of Christ will form an abounding 
subject for heavenly delight and contemplation. 
It is the high privilege of the Church below to 
be assured-, ee But ye are come unto Mount Zion, 
and unto the city of the living God, the Heavenly 
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of 
Angels; to the general assembly, and Church of the 
first-born, which are written in Heaven, and to 
God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men 
made perfect ; and to Jesus the Mediator of the 
new Covenant."* If such be the joy of the 
earthly anticipation, what must be the heavenly 
and everlasting reality ? 

It was the formation of this universal Church 
that the Saviour proposed to himself as the design 
for which he came into the world ; (i That in the 
dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather 
together hi one all things in Christ, both which are 
in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him 
" Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of 
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect 
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness 
* Heb. xiL 22—24, 
H 3 



154 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



of Christ."* The perfect man here mentioned, 
signifies the completeness of Christ in all the 
members of his mystical body, elect, sanctified, 
and finally perfected in glory. There is also 
another passage of similar import. " Who gave 
himself for it (the Church) that he might present 
it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot 
or wrinkle, or any such thing."f It was the prospect 
of accomplishing this great work that sustained the 
Redeemer in all the depths of his humiliation, in 
his agony in the garden,^ and in his death upon 
the cross.§ It was to this end he lived and died 
and rose again. " "Who for the joy that was set 
before him, endured the cross, despising the 
shame." || What a stupendous idea is con- 
veyed to the mind by this vast assemblage in 
glory of the redeemed of every age, tongue, 
kindred, and people — patriarchs, prophets, and 
apostles, holy martyrs and white-robed saints 
gathered from among both Jews and Gentiles ; 
all ransomed by the same blood ; sanctified by the 
same Spirit ; united under the same living head ; 
breathing an atmosphere of peace, holiness, and 
love ; endeared by the recollection of the same 
rials, and the experience of the same victorious 
grace, faithfulness, and truth ; and all joining in 

* Eph. i. 10; iv. 13. f Eph. v. 27. 

t Matt. xxvi. 39. § John xix. 30. || Heb. xii. 2. 



at Christ's coming. 



155 



one universal song of praise, cc saying with a loud 
voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to 
receive power, and honour, and glory, and blessing; 
for thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood 
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, 
and nation ; And hast made us unto our 
God kings and priests ; and we shall reign 
on the earth."* " Therefore are they before the 
throne of God, and serve him day and night 
in his temple ; and he that sitteth on the throne 
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no 
more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the 
sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb 
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of 
waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes."f 

How will the faithful minister of Christ rejoice 
in meeting this " great multitude," which no man 
can number, standing " before the throne, and 
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and 
palms in their hands. "i: Next to union with 
Christ himself, union with the Church of 
Christ in glory must necessarily be the nearest, 
as well as the most exalted source of happiness 
to faithful ministers, because it is in order to the 

* Rev. v. 9, 10, 12. f Rev. vii. 15—17, 

t Rev. vii. 9, 



156 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 

establishment of Christ's kingdom that they are 
divinely commissioned by their Lord, pledged by 
their solemn vow, and consecrated by their office. 
Ministers are Christ's accredited agents, his 
standard-bearers, stars in his right hand, the 
" lights of the world," the shepherds by whom 
he feeds the flock, the depositories of his grace, 
the appointed vessels in which are contained the 
riches of the heavenly treasure ; u earthen vessels," 
indeed, 66 that the excellency may be of God," 
but still vessels chosen for his honour and service. 
A standing ministry is essential to the very exist- 
ence of Christianity. They are the mouth by 
which Christ speaks — the hand with which he 
plants — the instruments by which principalities 
and powers of darkness are despoiled of their 
victims, and jewels are added to the crown of the 
Redeemer. It is through their ministrations 
that the living stones are built up into a holy 
temple, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ*— 
that churches are edified, the world reproved, the 
Saviour exalted, and sinners called into the 
kingdom of his grace, till they are finally per- 
fected in glory. 

But animating and glorious as is this prospect, 
there is an additional feature in it that may well 
endear this hope to the faithful servant of the 
* 1 Pet ii. 5. 



AT CHRISrS COMING. 



Lord, viz.. fourthly. Sis reunion with those that 
'.cere once the objects of his ministerial care and 

" For what is our hope, 5? says St. Paul, " or 
joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are uot even ye in 
the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his 
coming ? J? " For ye are oiu* glory, and joy*"* 
The churches once planted by the hands of the 
great Apostle to the Gentiles novc he mouldering 
in the dust. But the slumbering ashes of the 
Thessalonian converts shall one day revive at the 
trump of the archangel ; and he that planted, and 
they that were given to liini in the Lord, shall 
greet one another with holy joy, and mutual 
recognition. The doctrine of recognition, in a 
future state, is a truth to be plainly gathered from 
Scripture. u I shall go to him, but he shall not 
return to me."f The memory of objects dear to 
us on earth, and the pleadings of natural affec- 
tion, survive even in the regions of lost and 
accursed spirits. The rich man in hell could 
think of his five brethren, and be solicitous that 
that they should not enter into that place of tor- 
ment. If feelings like these exist amidst scenes 
of such guilt and misery, surely we may presume 
that they will be identified with the joys of 
heaven, and form an ingredient in our future 
* 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20. f 2 Sam. xii. 23. 



158 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



happiness and glory. The husband and the wife, 
the mother and the child, and all the various ties 
of affectionate love and friendship, if sanctified 
by grace, shall find their reunion perfected in 
glory. There, too, the faithful minister shall 
recognise the endeared objects of his earthly joy 
and hope, and presenting them together with 
himself, before the same throne of grace and 
glory, shall exclaim, " Here am I, and the children 
whom the Lord hath given me."* 

How do the honoured names, in our own 
Church, of a Venn, a Romaine, a Newton, a Scott, 
a Robinson, a Richmond, a Biddulph, and others, 
witnesses chosen of God for reviving the long 
slumbering doctrines of the glorious Reformation, 
rise up in remembrance before us, as participating 
in the joy of that great day of recognition. How, 
too, will a Schwartz, a Brainerd, an Elliot, a Martin, 
and men like-minded, labourers in the wide field 
of Missionary enterprise, bring their good sheaves 
with them for the great harvest of the Church in 
that day of reward and glory. 

Far, too, be from us that sentiment which would 
consign to the uncovenanted mercies of God all who 
are not within the same pale, and of the same form 
of ecclesiastical polity with ourselves. This would 
indeed be unchurching the various sections of the 
* Isaiah viii. 18. 



at Christ's coming. 



159 



Christian community at home, and the reformed 
Churches abroad. We confess that we have no 
fellowship with so exclusive and intolerant a creed. 
" We have no such custom , neither the Churches 
of God*'* We hail, then, as co-partners in the 
same joy, the various tribes of the armies of Israel, 
when each, with their respective leaders, pastors 
and converts, so far as they hold (i one Lord, one 
faith, one baptism," shall all meet and rejoice 
together in glory. 

Let us briefly consider — 

Tlte measure of the joy and reward of the 
faithful minister of Christ. 

The measure of this joy will be proportioned to 
the office and character sustained, and the fidelity 
with which its duties have been executed. Thus 
it is said, " He gave some apostles ; and some 
prophets ; and some evangelists ; and some pastors, 
and teachers." f All were not apostles, nor were 
all prophets. " There were diversities of gifts, and 
differences of administrations, yet the same Spirit, 
the same Lord, and the same God, winch worketh 
all in all." J The reason of this inequality was its 
necessity - , and its wise adaptation to the proposed 
end, viz., " for the perfecting of the saints, for the 
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body 

* I Cor. xi. 16. f Eph. iv. 11. 

I 1 Cor. xii, 4. 5, 6. 



160 



THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



of Christ."* And so there will be trie apostles' 
reward, that of the prophets, the evangelists, the 
pastors, and teachers, each according to his office, 
and to the extent and fidelity of his services. It is 
not demanded that a minister be found successful ; 
the language of Scripture tells us " it is required 
in stewards that a man be found faithful "\ David 
was not permitted to build the temple, neverthe- 
less God declared, u it is good for thee that it was 
in thine heart." It is the purity of the motive, 
the single eye, and the holy aim, that determines 
the character of every act in the eyes of him with 
whom we have to do, as well as the nature and 
extent of the reward. All will be happy, though 
not in the same measure and degree ; like so many 
vessels, each differing in size, and yet all full. 
" He that gathered much had nothing over, and 
he that gathered little had no lack. They gathered 
every man according to his eating." % 

5. God's judgment on mystic Babylon, which is 
reserved for Christ's coming, will form a signal 
occasion of joy to the faithful minister. It is at 
this eventful crisis that great Babylon, she that is 
described as drunken with the blood of the 
martyrs of Jesus, " shall come up in remembrance 
before God, to give unto her the cup of the 
wine of the fierceness of his wrath." The time is 

* Eph. iv. 12. f 1 Cor. iv. 2. J Exod. xvi. 18. 



at Christ's coming. 



161 



at hand. I am aware, that the modern revival of 
Popery is alleged as an argument against this as- 
sertion; but the objection has no foundation in 
truth. It is rather confirmatory of it. It is when 
Rome saith in her hearty " I sit a queen, and 
am no widow, and shall see no sorrow," that 
her plagues come suddenly upon her. " In one 
day, death, mourning, and famine. 5 ' She is be- 
wailed as fc a mighty city," with all the attributes 
of pomp and regal splendoru about her. " Alas ! 
alas ! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city ! 
for in one hour is thy judgment come." * In the 
hour preceding her fall she is in the fulness of her 
strength ; the next, prostrate in the dust; or, to 
quote language still more emphatic and awful, 
" she shall be burned with fire." Well may the 
faithful minister of Christ rejoice, for it was her 
usru-ped supremacy that clothed the Church with 
sackcloth, and sent her into the wilderness. Her 
fall awakens hallelujahs above, and songs of praise 
in the Church below. " Rejoice over her, ye holy 
apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you 
on her." Her doom is recorded by the unerring 
pen of inspiration. " And a mighty angel took up 
a stone like a millstone, and cast it into the sea, 
saying, Thus with violence shall that great city 
Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no 
more at all."f 

* See Rev. xviii. f Rev. xviii. 21. 



162 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



There seem to be strong grounds for believing 
that the seat of " the beast, and of the false pro- 
phet" (Rome itself), will become a perpetual scene 
of desolation, like ancient Babylon ; or, as some 
commentators have asserted, in a state resembling 
Sodom and Gomorrah, in her judgment. This 
supposition is founded on the following passages: 
" And the beast was taken, and with him the false 
prophet that wrought miracles before him, tcith 
which he deceived them that had received the mark 
of the beast, and them that ivor shipped his image ; 
these were both cast alive into a lake of fire, 
burning tcith brimstone"* 

" And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and 
of pipers and trumpeters, shall be heard no more 
at all in thee ; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft 
he be, shall be found any more in thee ; and the 
sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in 
thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no 
more at all in thee ; and the voice of the bridegroom 
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in 
thee"f 

The period shall arrive, to accommodate the 
words of an Oriental saying, when the spider shall 
weave her web amidst the ruins of the Vatican ; 
and the owl shall sing her watch-song on the 
tower of St. Angelo. 

* Rev. xix. 20. f Rev. xviii. 22, 23. 



at Christ's coming. 



163 



May the above solemn sentence of condemna- 
tion operate as a timely and salutary warning 
to our own Church ; and may those of its members, 
who wish to asshnilate her doctrines and practices 
to the corrupt model of apostate Rome, see 
whether there be not reason to fear that they who 
share in her guilt, may be called upon to par- 
ticipate in her judgments. 

But it is now time to draw these remarks to a 
conclusion. I shall beg, therefore, simply to 
advert to the last great event that may justly be 
considered as furnishing a most enlarged sense of 
holy joy; viz., 

The Millennial state of peace and holiness. 

Never did the harp of prophecy send forth 
notes more melodious than when this predicted 
period formed the subject of the song. The 
solitary place was to be made glad ; the wilderness 
to be transformed into a garden of Eden. It was 
to blossom exceedingly, and rejoice even with joy 
and singing. Fountains were to spring up in the 
midst of the valleys ; rivers to flow in the desert ; 
and the new heavens and the new earth were to 
replace a world exhibiting the sad traces of the 
primeval fall, and the entrance of death and sin 
into the world. 

In how many forms of evil has the abounding of 
sin, and the deep depravity of the human heart, 



164 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 

manifested itself in this fallen world ! How have 
the labours of the faithful servant of Christ been 
counteracted, in every age, by the prevalence of 
ignorance, bigotry, persecution of the true Church, 
and corruptions in doctrine and practice among 
professing Christians ! How " the god of this 
world blinds the minds of them which believe not, 
lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, 
who is the image of God, should shine unto 
them."* What a large portion of mankind are the 
subjects of Heathen idolatry, and superstition, 
or under the dominion of the false prophet ! How 
much of the interior of Africa still remains unex- 
plored ; while China, by the mysterious dispensa- 
tion of Providence, is only just rendered accessible 
to European commerce. O that it may prove 
to be the precursor of British missionary enter- 
prise, and the Gospel be faithfully proclaimed to 
the largest associated population in the known 
world. In our own beloved country, what strife 
and divisions are there in Churches ; and how 
little of real unity even among members of the 
same communion. With what refreshment of 
spirit, then, does the faithful servant of Christ look 
forward to that glorious period, when the strife of 
tongues, and the war of tumultuous passions shall 
be exchanged for the notes of harmony and 
* 2 Cor. iv. 4. 



AT CHKIST'S COMING. 



I65 



peace — when society shall be reconstructed on 
principles more analogous to the Divine will, and 
earth shall bear a closer resemblance to heaven — 
when " kings shall be the nursing fathers of the 
Churchy and their queens its nursing mothers" — 
when God " shall destroy the face of the covering 
cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over 
all nations"* — when pastors shall everywhere 
be holy, and the people righteous ; when u the 
light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, 
and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the 
light of seven days " and the kingdom and 
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom 
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the 
people of the saints of the Most High, whose 
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all 
dominions shall serve and obey him."f 

What an assemblage of events will usher in the 
glorious period of millennial blessedness. Judg- 
ments upon the nations. " Thou shalt break them 
with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them hi pieces 
like a potter's vessel."J This is elsewhere called 
" that great day of God Almighty," the battle of 
" Armageddon. "§ The national conversion of God's 
ancient people, \\ or " a nation born in a day."% Satan 

* Isa. xxv. 7. f Dan. vii. 27. % Ps. ii. 9. 

§ Rev. xvi. 14, 16. j| Zech. xii. 10; xiv. 4. 

IF Isa. lxvi. 8. 



166 THE FAITHFUL MIXISTER's JOY 



cast into the bottomless pit, and bound for a thousand 
years* The first resurrection, or that of saints and 
holy martyrs.^ The union of living icith risen 
saints.% Millennial blessedness. et And they lived 
and reigned with Christ a thousand years."§ This 
reign of Christ, with his saints, was universally 
held by the whole orthodox Christian Church, 
in the age immediately following that of the 
apostles ; nor was it anciently denied but by 
heretics, and such as denied the Apocalypse. It 
was also believed by the early Jewish doctors. || 
It gradually became mingled with curious conceits, 
and fictions ; and in our own country, especially, 
in the time of the Commonwealth ; and so fell into 
disrepute. But it is the province of true wisdom 
to discriminate truth from error, and not to reject 
what is essentially true, because, through human 
infirmity, it is so often corrupted with what is false. 

In what impassioned strains does the evangelical 
prophet describe the glory and blessedness of that 
day, primarily applicable to the Jewish nation; 
and, in its secondary or enlarged sense, to the 
Zion of the whole earth. 

" Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, 
wasting nor destruction within thy borders ; but 
thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates 

* Rev. xx. 2, 3. f Rev. xx. 4, 5. J 1 Thess. iv. 14. 
§ Rev. xx. 4. || See Mede p. 943, 944. 



at Christ's coming. 



167 



Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by 
day ; neither for brightness shall the moon give 
light unto thee : but the Lord shall be unto thee 
an everlasting lights and thy God thy glory. Thy 
sun shall no more go down ; neither shall thy 
moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine 
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning 
shall be ended."* What a theme does this mighty 
dispensation of Providential dealings, and of 
the glories of Divine grace, unfold to the Church 
of Christ, and to the Lord's ministering servants. 
How little is it appreciated, because not under- 
stood ; nor understood, because not made the 
subject of study, earnest prayer, and holy medita- 
tion. And yet the word of truth declares it ; 
primitive antiquity confirms it ; and the extra- 
ordinary signs of the times announce that these 
events are rapidly hastening onwards to their con 
summation. 

Such, then, are the joys of the faithful minister 
of Christ, at his Lord's coming; and such the 
sources whence they may be presumed to flow. 

Happy they that are already within the veil, 
waiting the morn of the resurrection for that full 
perfection in glory, which seems reserved for the 
reunion of the risen body with the immaterial 
spirit. The perfect man is composed of body, 
* Isaiah Ix. 18, 19, 20. 



168 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 

soul, and spirit. Separation, therefore, must be 
like the absence of a companion, and a friend, 
with whom we haye held a long and familiar 
converse, identified with every past feeling, 
whether of joy or sorrow, of humiliation or praise. 
On the other hand, the reunion of the body with 
the glorified spirit must resemble the renewal of a 
long suspended intercourse, free from all further 
alloy of sin, trial, disease, and death — the worm- 
wood and the gall that once marked the days of 
our earthly pilgrimage, but now changed unto the 
image of a glorious immortality, with new and 
more enlarged powers of thought and perception, 
adapted to the faculties of the glorified spirit, 
all flowing from the throne of God and of the 
Lamb, and returning thither in endless streams of 
gratitude and praise. 

How animating, on that day, will be the sound 
of those gracious words, " Well done, good and 
faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few 
things, I will make thee ruler over many things : 
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."* Thus the 
charge over the five or ten cities, mentioned in 
Luke xix. 17 — 19, may refer to a guardianship, 
like that of angels here, in Christ's millennial king- 
dom ; and so glorified spirits may be permitted to 
hold communion, seen or unseen, with saints below. 
* Matt. xxv. 23. 



at Christ's coming. 



169 



But whatever may be the precise nature of the 
employment , it is sufficient to know, that " they 
that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
ment ; and they that turn many to righteousness^ as 
the stars for ever and ever."* O ! that ministers 
might be quickened by such precious promises into 
higher aspirations after holiness; that the heart 
might be inflamed with a more ardent love, and 
the tongue be touched so as to burst forth into 
sublimer strains of piety and zeal. May the time 
come, when " the Spirit shall be poured out from 
on high," and the world lose its power to ensnare, 
and Satan cease to destroy, and grace be victorious 
to sanctify and save. 

While we have thus described the joys of the 
faithful minister, what a contrast will be presented 
by the rebuke and condemnation of the unworthy 
and slothful servant. " The diseased have ye not 
strengthened, neither have ye healed that which 
was sick, neither have ye bound up that which 
was broken, neither have ye brought again that 
which was driven away, neither have ye sought 
that which was lost." " And they were scattered, 
because there was no shepherd." " My sheep 
wandered through all the mountains, and upon 
every high hill."f The solemn denunciations 
then follow, and God declares, (C I will require my 
* Dan. xii. 3. f Ezek. xxxiv. 4, 5, 6. 

I 



170 



THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from 
feeding the flock." * 

I cannot conclude without the brief considera- 
tion of a question intimately connected with this 
subject; viz., What is best calculated, under God's 
blessing, to produce a faithful and effective minister 
of the Gospel ? This is a momentous inquiry, and 
especially under the present circumstances of our 
Church. 

It is evident, that in order to this end, there 
must be an agency that is Divine, an instrumentality 
that is human, and means suited to the attain- 
ment of the proposed end. All grace is of God, 
the living fountain of truth and holiness. It is he 
who can alone make us " able ministers of the 
New Testament/' and fit us, by the power of his 
Spirit, for the solemn duties of our calling. Per- 
sonal holiness, then, is the indispensable qualifica- 
tion for the ministry ; nor should any man think 
that he can ever be an instrument in the conversion 
of others, who is not first converted himself. But 
it is the character of the means employed, which I 
beg briefly to notice. That the Church of England 
is apostolical in its constitution, scriptural in its 
doctrines, and devotional in its services, is a fact 
that may be established by the most satisfactory 
evidence. 

* Ezek. xxxiv. 10. 



at Christ's coming. 



171 



What is needed is, that the practice should he 
made more conformable to so excellent a theory; and 
that men should be more systematically trained 
in the knowledge of the truths and duties of their 
profession, before they are called upon to proclaim 
and discharge them. The means hitherto em- 
ployed (though in advance on former times) are 
still not sufficiently adequate to the magnitude and 
responsibility of such a charge. A more effective 
discipline is another desideratum, with promptness 
and moral courage to enforce it, wherever Pro- 
testant truth is violated, or the conduct not in 
accordance with the sacredness of the office. 
There should not seem to be an indisposition to 
redress wrongs, and an apparent willingness to 
throw the shield of authority over delinquents. 
There cannot be a more dangerous position for 
a Church, than when the clergy are brought 
into collision, not only with their respective flocks, 
but with the sound and reflecting part of the 
public, by the introduction of doctrines and inno- 
vations that are strange to the eyes and ears. 
The skilful physician applies the remedy at the 
first indication of the disease, and never waits 
till it is beyond the reach and power of art. 
Wrongs not timely redressed may ultimately lead 
to results that will shake the walls of our Zion, 
and involve Church and State in a fearful crisis. 

The times are already sufficiently solemn. A 
i 2 



172 THE FAITHFUL MINISTER'S JOY 



cloud evidently hangs over the Church of England, 
while there is no appeal made to the collective 
wisdom of the Church, to explore the evil and to 
devise the remedy. We are fallen into evil days, 
when one of the subjects of discussion is not 
how we may best save immortal souls, but what 
ought to be the colour of an habiliment, and the 
forms of ceremonial worship. O that the Divine 
Spirit might revive among us the impressive 
exhortations of the apostle : " But foolish and un- 
learned questions avoid, knowing that they do 
gender strifes" u Study to shexo thyself approved 
unto God, aviorkman that needeth not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth."* "I charge 
thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
who shall judge the quick and the dead at his 
appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; 
be instant in season, out of season" f 

It is thus that we might indulge the animating 
hope that the Church of England might be ren- 
dered one of the most efficient instruments for 
diffusing sound piety and religion, both at home 
and abroad ; and that its ministers might become, 
under the Divine blessing, " the glory of Christ," 
"the messengers of the Churches/' the great 
witness for the truths of the Reformation, the bul- 
wark of Christendom, and the fit herald of mercy 
to the millions of perishing heathen. 

* 2 Tim. ii. 15—23. f Ibid. iv. 1, 2. 



LECTURE VII. 



THE RE-UNION OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 



BY THE REV. W. MARSH, D.D., 

INCUMBENT OF ST. MARY'S, LEAMINGTON. 



John XVII. 21. 

" That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in 
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in 
us : that the world may believe that thou hast 
sent meP 

" That in the dispensation of the fulness of times 
he might gather together in one all things in Christy 
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, 
even in him, 5 ' is the grand design of infinite love. 
This design has been opposed by the malice of evil 
spirits and the depravity of fallen man. But 
infinite power will accomplish what infinite love 
has designed ; and all things shall tend, directly or 
indirectly, to a consummation so devoutly to be 
wished. 



174 



THE RE-UNION OF 



As this is the purpose of God, so is it the sub- 
ject of prophecy, and so was it the prayer of the 
great Intercessor, when he lifted up his eyes to 
heaven, and said, " Father, glorify thy Son, that 
thy Son also may glorify thee. ... I have mani- 
fested thy name unto the men which, thou gavest 
me out of the world. . . . And now I am no more 
in the world, but these are in the world, and I 
come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine 
own name those whom thou hast given me, that 
they may be one, as we are. . . . Neither pray I 
for these alone, but for them also which shall 
believe on me through their word ; that they all 
may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in 
thee, that they also may be one in us : that the 
world may believe that thou hast sent me." Had 
there ever been that unity of faith and love 
among all the professed ministers of Christ, and 
that unity of heart and mind among all the pro- 
fessed disciples of Christ, the world could never 
have resisted such an evidence of the truth of 
Christianity. But this most comprehensive and 
wonderful prayer still waits for its answer. 

But let us take a view of the mode of opposition 
to this glorious design. From the time those 
angels fell, who kept not their first estate, down to 
the present day, it has continued; and, through 
the depravity of man, it will continue till " the 



THE PEOPLE OF GOB. 



175 



mystery of God shall be finished," and the loud 
voice be heard in heaven saying, " ~Now is come 
salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our 
God, and the power of his Christ, and he shall 
reign for ever and ever." Then angels and men 
shall be one ; and the ten tribes and two tribes of 
Israel shall be one ; and Jews and Gentiles shall 
be one ; and the Church of Christ, in all her 
members, shall be one ; and God and men shall be 
one • and the prayer of our Redeemer shall be 
answered. 

The subject of the present lecture is, " The re- 
union of all the people of God. 55 I shall therefore 
call your attention to — 

I. The previous Opposition to it, 

II. The final Accomplishment of it 

The opposition includes in it the sin of schism. 
This commenced among those high intelligences, 
who, with a derived, though dependent sufficiency, 
might have kept their first estate. But, conceiving, 
probably at the suggestion of one great leader, the 
possibility of independence, they withdrew their 
allegiance, and sinned against their Creator. Then 
there was a schism among the angels of God. What 
a lesson of dependence might be taught the 
universe by the conduct and punishment of these 
fallen spirits ! 

Another order of beings was created, in whom 



176 



THE RE-UNION OF 



Jehovah greatly delighted. This order would, in 
a high sense, be capable of reflecting the Divine 
glory. " God said, Let us make man in our image, 
after our likeness ; and let him have dominion." 
Under the moral government of the Creator this 
order was to be tried. " And God said; Of all the 
trees of the garden thou mayest freely eat ; but of 
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou 
mayest not eat; for in the day that thou eatest 
thereof, thou shalt surely die."* The tempter 
comes, and suggests a doubt as to the truth of this 
saying ; or, if true, whether the threatening would 
be executed ; and, on the contrary, that great 
would be the advantages of partaking of the for- 
bidden fruit. The temptation succeeds, and the 
penalty is incurred. The Spirit of God is grieved; 
and man no longer holds communion with his 
Maker. Then there is a schism in the paradise of 
man. 

But there were purposes of mercy towards the 
human race ; and a Redeemer was revealed, who 
would restore that nature and conquer him who 
had led it astray. In that Redeemer it would be 
re-headed ; and this was made known and taught 
to Adam's children ; and Abel believes it, but Cain 
believes it not : and, behold, then there is a schism 
in the family of man. 

* Gen. ii. 16, 17. 



THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 



177 



Nevertheless, those 66 born after the Spirit" 
maintain their unity, till alliances were formed 
with those " born after the flesh and then a great 
schism takes place in the professing Church of 
God. 

Again, in the world renewed in Noah we have 
the same history. Truth is taught, and received 
by the few; and unbelievingly and scornfully 
rejected by the many, till the world was sunk in 
idolatry. But God would not leave himself with- 
out witness, and Abraham is called ; and the nation 
that proceeded from him adopted, and then the 
tribe, and then the family, from whom the 
Redeemer should spring, were pointed out. But, 
behold ! many of them gave no credence to his 
word, till at length, though placed in the promised 
land, and brought to great prosperity, ten tribes 
out of twelve separate themselves, and adopt a 
false mode of worship. And there is a schism in 
Hie chosen nation of God. But Judah, though 
equally prone to depart, is preserved because 
Messiah was to come of that tribe ; and in the 
fulness of time he appears, " full of grace and 
truth." He comes "to his own, but his own 
receive him not." Few are his followers. The 
nation will not have him to reign over them ; and 
then comes the great schism in the Jeivish Church 
of God. The believers in the Redeemer present. 

i 3 



178 



THE RE-UNION OF 



however ^ at that time a beautiful picture of unity 
and love. They were ec all of one heart and of 
one soul." Yet soon the enemy sows tares among 
the wheat ; and from among themselves did men 
arise, " speaking perverse things, and drawing 
away disciples after them." Henceforward arose 
heresy after heresy in doctrine, and schism after 
schism in practice, and superstition after super- 
stition in ceremonies, and persecution after 
persecution of real Christians who dared to 
abide by truth. And the Church in the 
East was overwhelmed with a flood, and the 
crescent waxed strong against the Cross ; and the 
Church in the West was enveloped in darkness ; 
and the Churches in Africa, where the eloquence 
of Chrysostom was heard, and the energy of Augus- 
tine was felt, were given to the foe ; and few were 
the witnesses, as in the days of Elijah, till God in 
his mercy again said, " Let there be light ! " and a 
Wickliff, and a Luther, and a Cranmer, and a 
Latimer, and a Calvin, and a Bucer, and other 
blessed Reformers, arose, and, in the spirit of truth 
and moderation, and piety, and zeal, endeavoured 
to unite the people of God. But human nature is 
human nature still ; and weakness of judgment 
in some, and wickedness of heart in others, and a 
needless scrupulosity about things indifferent in a 
third, and a want of conciliation in smaller matters 



THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 



179 



in a fourth^ and love of novelty, and excitement, 
and pride, and caprice, opposed the union of the 
people of God« 

Reflecting on the past and present history of the 
Church, one is ready to exclaim, " "When shall it 
once be?" Hitherto there has been nothing but 
opposition to it. Nevertheless, we have the sure 
word of prophecy. " There shall be one day, 
known to the Lord," when " there shall be one 
Lord, and his name one."* And then shall this great 
intercessory prayer be answered, and all the dis- 
ciples of Christ shall be one, as the Father and the 
Son are one ; and the world shall believe, and 
worship, and adore. Hence we lead your atten- 
tion to — 

II. The final Accomplishment of it. 

Here we must walk by faith, and not by sight 
If we judge by appearances, if we review the past 
history of mankind, if we contemplate the imperfec- 
tions of the Church, we may well be discouraged. 
Our world hitherto has been a planet that, morally 
considered, has wandered from its sphere; and would 
have wandered in interminable darkness but for 
" the purpose of God which he purposed in Christ 
Jesus our Lord." That purpose was to u gather 
together in one all things in Christ, and by him to 
reconcile all things to himself, whether they be 
* Zech. xiv. 7, 9. 



180 



THE RE-UNION OF 



things in earth or things in heaven." This is the 
grand design of infinite love ; and the means were 
adequate to the end. The merit of the Divine 
Redeemer could remove both guilt and punishment ; 
and the energy of the Divine Spirit could subdue 
human depravity and restore perfect holiness. 
The Divine faithfulness also is pledged that not 
one promise should fail, but all should come to pass. 
The prophecies, therefore, of Holy "Writ are full of 
this most interesting theme. " That/' says St. 
Peter, u which God before had spoken by the 
mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, 
he hath so fulfilled. And he will (again) send 
Jesus Christ, whom the heavens must receive until 
the times of restitution (or accomplishment) of all 
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all 
his holy prophets since the world began."* Then 
the re-union of all the people of God will take 
place. Then shall come to pass the saying that is 
written, " The tabernacle of God is with men, 
and God himself will be with them, and be their 
God." All things shall be put in subjection under 
Christ's feet ; and his mystical body, the Church, 
will sit with him on his throne, " even as he over- 
came and is set down with the Father on his 
throne." Then the second Adam, foretold in the 
Psalms of David, as applied in the writings of 
* Acts iii. 18, 20, 21. 



THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 



181 



St. Paul, shall have dominion.* Then shall the 
Church experience undisturbed peace and ever - 
lasting joy. Then shall the world be rilled with 
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the 
sea. The darkness of Pagan idolatry, of Maho- 
medan imposture, of Popish superstition, and of 
Jewish unbelief, will have passed away. Pro- 
testant lukewarmness will have kindled into the 
flame of holy love, and infidelity will be constrained 
to cry out, " Truly this was the Son of God." 

To this the apostle may refer, while drawing a 
beautiful contrast between the Levitical and Evan- 
gelical dispensations. Those, under the former, 
came to a mountain, which, being touched, death 
ensued, and to blackness, and darkness, and 
tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the 
voice of words, which made even Moses himself 
to tremble ; but the latter " come f to Mount Zion, 
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly 
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of 
angels, to the general assembly and church of the 
first-born, which are written in heaven, and to 
God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just 
men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of 
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, 
which speaketh better things than that of Abel.'' 

* Ps. viii. ; Heb. ii. ; Ps. ex. ; 1 Cor. xv. ; Rom. v. 
f " Shall come." — Macknight. 



182 



THE RE-UNION OF 



Certainly, though believers have already come 
hither by faith, both as to title and earnest, yet this 
blessedness cannot be fully enjoyed till the period 
to which our subject refers. Till then, we shall 
not see " Jerusalem as a city in unity in itself." 
Till then, we shall not behold that good and 
pleasant sight, "Brethren dwelling together in 
unity." Till then, there will be that separation 
which re-union previously implies. Then, and 
then only, will the prayer receive its full and final 
answer, " That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, 
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be 
one in us : that the world may believe that thou 
hast sent me." 

Let us learn from this subject, 

1 . To cultivate sedulously the spirit of union now. 

As it is a sin against nature for man to be the 
^nerny of man — " Hath not one God created us ?" 
so is it a sin against grace for Christian to hate 
Christian — Hath not one Lord redeemed us? 
Hence schism in spirit is a sin ; for the heart of 
each should say, ee Grace be with all them that 
love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." The 
spirit of preference there must be ; but there 
should not be the spirit of exclusion. And 
to lay unnecessary impediments to union, or make 
an unnecessary separation from a Church of Christ, 
in which we have the means of scriptural instruc- 



THE PEOPLE OE GOD. 



183 



tion and grace, is a sin to be confessed and 
deplored, and watched and prayed against, by 
all the true servants of the living God. " 0 that 
I conld somewhere meet you both together/'' said 
Augustine to .Jerome and Euffinus, hearing of 
their differences. " I would fall at your feet with 
much love and many teaxs^ and would beseech 
you for God's sake, for your own sake, and for 
the sake of weak Christians, not to suffer these 
dissensions to spread further." And thus the 
Church of England prays, that ? all who profess 
and call themselves Christians may be led into 
the way of truth, and hold the faith in unify of 
spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness 
of life.* 5 And that God would i: inspire continually 
the universal Church with the spirit of truth. 
unity, and concord, that all they that do confess 
his holy name may agree in the truth of his holv 
TTord, and live in unity and godly love.'*' And 
thus the holy Scriptures command, and beseech, 
and warn. "Let there be no divisions anions 
you : " (i I beseech Euodias and I beseech 
Synryche, that they be of the same mind in the 
Lord;"' "If ye bite and devour one another, take 
heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 5 ' 
How beautifidly this union is illustrated by the 
emblem of the body and the members, " so that 
if one member be honoured, all the members are 



184 



THE RE-UNION OF 



honoured with it; or if one member suffer, all 
the members suffer with it; 55 " There is one body, 
whereof we all are members ; one spirit, which 
quickens, moves, and inspires all ; one hope, or 
expectation of the same happiness ; one Lord, 
who redeems, and governs, and rules ; one faith 
in the common salvation ; one baptism, or sign 
and seal of the covenant ; one God and Father 
of all, whether believing Jews or Gentiles, and 
who is over all as supreme ; with all, as taking 
care by his Providence ; and in all, by his vital 
energy and grace;" therefore, should all carefully 
endeavour to preserve " the unity of the Spirit 
by the bond of peace." Such are the powerful 
motives by which mutual forbearance and brotherly 
love are enjoined. It was known that the Jewish 
and Gentile converts would differ as to some 
ceremonies. Hence the laboured arguments of 
the Apostle in the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters 
of his Epistle to the Romans; and these, as to 
their spirit, are the finer parts of our religion. 
But what have we seen in the professing Church 
of God ? Instead of union, division ; instead of 
harmony, discord ; instead of love, enmity ; instead 
of holiness, practical infidelity. Let us not wonder 
that it has cast a stumbling-block before the Jews, 
though they also had their sects. But the Church 
of Rome has no cause to boast of her unity, as 



THE PEOPLE OF GOB. 



185 



opposed to our divisions, when she reflects on her 
Jansenists and her Jesuits,, her Dominicans and 
Franciscans. And we have no cause to envy her 
uniformity in a corrupted worship and submission 
to a false head, for division in truth is preferable 
to unity in error ; and union without truth is a 
conspiracy against heaven. But all who hold the 
head; should sedulously cultivate the spirit of 
union , for true religion is of an uniting nature ; 
and " By this/ 5 said our blessed Lord, " shall all 
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have 
love one to another;" "Yea/ 5 says the beloved 
disciple, "by this we know that we are passed 
from death unto life, because we love the brethren." 
If Paul and Barnabas for a moment disagree, they 
will soon again unite. " If we cannot reconcile 
all opinions, let us unite all hearts," is a sentiment 
never to be forgotten. As to the Prhnitive 
Church, the very heathen acknowledged that no 
people ever held together, and loved one another, 
as the Christians. Alas ! that Julian could after- 
wards jeer us for our divisions, and Cainpian 
make it an argument against our faith. " Pardon," 
said GEcolampadius, "may be obtained for sins 
through faith in Christ's blood, but our scandalous 
discords God will judge." As long as the earth 
emits vapours, so long thunder and lightning will 
be in the air. We can have no serene sky. "We 



186 



THE RE-UNION OF 



wonder not, therefore, at the trials or the weakness 
of the Church, as long as she is divided against 
herself. In this state she cannot appear, " Fair as 
the moon, clear as the sun, terrible as an army 
with banners." A foreign enemy takes advantage 
of a distracted state of things, redoubles his 
assaults, and, having obtained an entrance, falls on 
all parties at once. 

Beloved brethren, it will be well if I have not 
drawn a picture of the Church even at the present 
day. The Son of man is coining, but will he find 
faith on the earth ? The Son of man is coining, but 
will he find love on the earth ? The Son of man is 
coming, but will he find union on the earth ? — the 
union of truth and peace ? O let us, at least, have 
this oil in our lamps, and cultivate the spirit of union 
now. And this shall be our cheerful hope, that 
this prayer must eventually be answered, and that 
all shall be one. Therefore we are, 

2. To anticipate the re-union of all the people of 
God then. 

O glorious hour ! Whatsoever is imperfect, 
sinful, or calamitous, is then gone for ever ! The 
tempter is bound with adamantine chains and cast 
into the bottomless pit. The people of God are 
raised incorruptible and immortal. There is per- 
fect rest from sin and sorrow — a perfect rest in 
the service and enjoyment of God. They are 



THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 



187 



"made kings and priests, and reign over the 
earth. " Then the Redeemer distributes his 
rewards of grace "to his servants, the prophets 
and the saints, and those who have feared his 
name, both small and great; 5 '* and the servant 
who by one talent had gained ten talents, becomes 
ruler over ten cities ; and the one who had gained 
five, rules over five ; and a cup of cold water only, 
given to a disciple in the name of a disciple, does 
"in nowise lose its reward/' And the apostles 
will " sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel." And the saints judge angels ; and 
Abraham becomes "heir of the world; 5 ' and the 
glorified Church, " heir of all things," because 
"heir of God, and joint heir with Christ;" and 
she may be the leader and organ of Jehovah's 
praise throughout the universe. 

" Fain would we something say, but to what end ? 
Men have not eyes nor ears to understand, 
The high notion and sublime mystery." 

But let me not be considered as descending in 
the scale of happiness, if I assert that a mutual 
recognition of Christian friends will be a sweet 
ingredient in our joy. The parent will meet the 
child— "I shall go to him." The shepherd will 
meet the flock, — "What is our joy or crown of 
rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of 
* Rev. v. 10; xi. 18. 



188 



THE RE-UNION OF 



our Lord Jesus Christy at his coming?" The 
friend will meet the friend, — We " sorrow not as 
those without hope, for if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so them also that sleep 
in Jesus will God bring with him." We do not 
detract from the glory of the sun when we admire 
the flowers it paints, or the fruits it ripens. The 
Redeemer comes " to be glorified in his saints, 
and to be admired in all them that believe." And 
the dead being raised, and the living changed, 
" They shall meet the Lord in the air, and be 
ever with the Lord." And each will joy in the 
joy of all. Then in mind, in will, in affection, 
in purpose, and in dominion, they shall be one, 
as the Father and the Son are one ; and the world 
shall believe that our Redeemer was sent to 
accomplish these designs of infinite love. 

Beloved brethren, are these things so? Then 
who are the people of God, and who shall be 
re-united with them? Will you not pray, "Re- 
member me, O Lord, with the favour that thou 
bearest unto thy people : O visit me with thy 
salvation ; that I may see the good of thy chosen, 
that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, 
that I may glory with thine inheritance." * If you 
repent and believe the Gospel, you are introduced 
into this blessed society. If you "follow peace 
* Ps. cvi. 4, 5. 



THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 



189 



with, all men, and holiness, yon shall see the 
Lord." If yon ec watch and pray always/' you 
shall be u accounted worthy to stand before the 
Son of man." If you wait for your Lord, you 
shall " open to him immediately." If you live 
in love,' you shall have " boldness before him." 
If, in his strength, you overcome, you shall " sit 
with him on his throne, even as he also overcame 
and is set down with the Father on his throne." 
Lay these things to heart. Let none of you be 
missing in that day. And God grant you all that 
faith which is the confident expectation of things 
hoped for, and the assured conviction of things not 
seen. If you believe the oracles of God, you must 
admit, that to have been found among the people 
of God in time, will be the only true wisdom ; 
to have been partakers of their grace, the only 
true happiness; and to have joined in their 
services, the only true honour. " I beseech you, 
therefore, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our 
gathering together unto him," that you thus 
practically consider 

" The re-union of all the people of God." 

PRATER EOR UNITY. 

" O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
our only Saviour, the Prince of peace, give us 
grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers 



190 THE RE-UNION OE THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 

we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away 
all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may 
hinder us from godly union and concord, that, as 
there is but one body and one spirit and one 
hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one 
baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may 
henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul, 
united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of 
faith and charity, and may, with one mind and 
one mouth, glorify thee ; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord." Amen. 



LECTURE VIII. 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT A REMEDY 
AGAINST SUPERSTITION. 



BY THE REV. R. W. DIBDIX, M.A. 

MINISTER OF WEST-STREET EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, ST. GILES'S, LONDON. 



Acts I. 11. 

" This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into 
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have 
seen him go into heaven" 

Such were trie words spoken by angels to the 
disciples, who were gazing up into heaven after 
that a cloud had received Jesus out of their sight. 

They contain a promise suited and intended to 
revive the hopes of the dejected followers of Christ. 
They had read in the prophets that a King should 
reign and prosper, and rightly believed that Jesus 
of Nazareth should be the King of the Jews : that 
the Lord God would give unto him the throne of 
his father David. 



192 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



But when by wicked hands Christ was crucified 
and slain, sorrow filled their hearts, and in the 
language of despondency they exclaimed, " We 
trusted that it had been he which should have 
redeemed Israel ! " 

Hope, however, revived when Jesus rose from 
the dead, and they eagerly asked him, " Wilt thou 
at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" 
The reply of Jesus checked their sanguine expec- 
tations : " It is not for you to know the times or 
the seasons which the Father hath put in his own 
power ; " And almost immediately after he ascended 
into heaven. 

But he did not leave them comfortless ; for 
" while they looked stedfastly toward heaven, as 
he went up, behold two men stood by them in 
white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, 
why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same 
Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, 
shall so come, in like manner, as ye have seen him 
go into heaven." 

From that moment their duty (and the duty of 
all who should believe through their word) 
became plain. It was u to wait for the Lord from 
heaven," and to " hope to the end for the grace 
that is to be brought at the revelation of Jesus 
Christ/ 5 

In this hope the apostles lived, and taught, and 



A REMEDY AGAINST SUPERSTITION, 



193 



died ; encouraging themselves, and the rest of the 
Church, by looking for, and " hasting unto the 
coining of the day of God." 

For that day is to bring with it not only the 
fulfilment of all that prophecy has spoken to Abra- 
ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob : the good which the 
Lord hath spoken concerning Israel. But it shall 
be a time of blessing to all his Church. In that 
day Christ shall be a " light to lighten the Gen- 
tiles," as well as the " glory of his people Israel." 

The return of Jesus to this earth shall be the 
beginning of an eternal and happy reign over the 
Jews upon the throne of his father David. Nor 
only so. But ec when Christ, who is our life, shall 
appear, we [Gentiles] also shall appear with him 
in glory." The dead in Christ shall be raised, 
and " we which are alive and remain, shall be 
caught up together with them to meet the Lord 
in the air. And so shall we be ever with the 
Lord." And this is what is meant by the " hope 
of the Advent." 

This is the hope constantly set before the Church 
in the Word of God ; the hope to which it is the 
duty and the happiness of that Church to cling. 

The Church? But what Church? Not, cer- 
tainly, all who have the baptism of water, or all 
such as profess and call themselves Christians ; but 
that of which we read, " Christ loved the Church, 



194 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and 
cleanse it with the washing of water by the 
word, that he might present it to himself a glo- 
rious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any 
such thing ; hut that it should he holy and without 
blemish" 

The Church? It is all those who have been 
chosen in Christ Jesus before the foundation of 
the world, that they should be " holy and without 
blame before him in love ! " The Church ? It is 
every one of those who have been, are, or shall be, 
born of the Spirit and made new creatures in 
Christ Jesus. The Church ? It comprehends all 
justified through faith, — through faith only — not 
as the Romanists teach, by faith and works, or faith 
and baptism conjointly, but through faith only, 
" without the works of the law." 

This, then, is the Church. Every member of 
that body described as elect, regenerate, justified. 

Till all whom the Father " hath chosen in 
Christ out of mankind" are born again and justi- 
fied, the Church will not be complete. And hence 
it is that we pray, in one of the services of our 
most scriptural Prayer-book, that it may please 
God ce to accomplish the number of his elect, and 
to hasten his kingdom." 

There is, however, a more confined sense in 
which the Church comprehends those only of its 



A REMEDY AGAINST SUPERSTITION. 195 



members iclio are living at one time : not an un- 
defined body invested with an usurped authority, 
(which, in practice proves to be the clergy invested 
with tyranny,) but " all that in every place call 
upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord : both 
theirs and ours." 

Upon this subject it has been vrell remarked by 
a learned and pious prelate : " The Church has 
been made first an abstraction, and then a person, 
and then a Saviour. The Church thus invested 
with divinity, has the minister as her visible 
representative ; and he (explaining the prophetic 
anticipation; has assumed the place of God. "We 
too veil know what corruptions found entrance at 
this source ; what opportunity was given to the 
exercise of the worst of human passions ; what 
food was supplied to malice, enmity, pride, covet- 
ousness, and ambition. So that one of the first 
and most needful works of the. Reformers was to 
pierce the veil, to die est the Church of the mvsteey 
in which it had been shrouded, and to disclose it to 
the worlds in its true and Scriptural form as the 

COMPANY of BELIEVERS/' * 

Such is the language of one whom we may 
justly style a "master in Israel." And then he 
proceeds : " The Church is that body which, had 
assembled in the upper chamber at Jerusalem, 
* Charge of the Bishop of Chester, 1841, p. 31. 

k2 



196 



THE HOPE OE THE ADVENT 



and there received the promise of their risen and 
ascended Lord. The Church is that party which 
united together and ' had all things common/ 
and 6 continued in the apostles' fellowship. 9 The 
Church is that e congregation of faithful men/ in 
all ages and of all countries, who maintain in their 
purity the doctrines and institutions of the Gospel" 
And this is the Church whose duty and happi- 
ness it is to hope for the Advent of the " great 
God and our Saviour Jesus Christy with joy un- 
speakable and full of glory." 

To all and every of those who have believed in 
their crucified, risen, and ascended Lord, (what- 
ever their differences in minor points,) it may be 
said, for their comfort and encouragement, " This 
same Jesus which is taken up from you into 
heaven, shall so come in like manner as he went 
up into heaven." 

But the subject appointed for the present 
lecture specially requires that the hope of the 
Advent be shown as a remedy against su- 
perstition. 

May God the Holy Ghost so bless what shall be 
said that we may be strengthened in unfeigned 
abhorrence of all that is superstitious, either in 
doctrine or practice, for Jesus Christ's sake ! 

The subject is the hope, and not the mere expec- 
tation, of the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus. 



A REMEDY AGAIXST SUPERSTITION. 197 



Hence we are spared the painful, but very im- 
portant, duty of dwelling at great length upon, the 
destruction of that superstitious and Antichristian 
confederacy, the community of Rome. 

The second coming of the Lord Jesus, in 
£€ flaming fire to take vengeance upon them that 
know not God," is properly a subject of terror, 
and not of hope, to the lovers of that idolatrous 
system. They, alas ! have nothing to hope, and 
everything to dread, who shall be u destroyed by 
the brightness of his coming ! 55 

However willing we may be to listen to the 
voice of charity, and to hope that there are some 
of the Lord's " chosen, called, and faithful " people, 
even in that unholy connexion ; yet we cannot 
but believe (yea heartily rejoice) that the Romish 
system itself shall be destroyed at the coming of 
the Lord. 

The Romish system ! A system whose records 
pollute the page of history. A system whose 
superstitions have been at once the cause and the 
cloak of crimes almost incredible in number and 
blackness. A system from which have flowed all 
the frightful workings of fraud and cruelty and 
lust ; of pride and ambition and blasphemy, as its 
natural and necessary results. A system, to use 
words more happily expressive than my own, 
" so hideous in its principles, and so mischievous 



198 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



in its effects, that it well deserves to be described 
as having imbodied the very mystery of iniquity 

We wonder not that the gentle spirit of holy 
Archbishop Leighton was moved to unwonted 
severity of language when he spoke of the duty of 
rulers with regard to this system. " Kings/' says 
that meek and heavenly-minded prelate, " ought 

tO HATE THAT RELIGION OF KoME, (which is 

indeed rebellion^) and that mother of abominations, 
who makes the kings of the earth drunk with 
her cup."f 

Little indeed can the abettors of such a system 
as this have to hope from the appearing of the 
Lord ! And little thanks do we owe to those who 
would obliterate the wholesome feeling of terror 
and abhorrence toward Rome, once so general 
among ourselves : those who (as it has been 
felicitously observed by Episcopal authority) so 
conduct their labours that, " Under the pretence 
of deference for antiquity, and respect for primi- 
tive models, the foundations of our Protestant 
Church are undermined by men who dwell within 
her walls; and those who sit in the Reformers' 
seat are traducing the Heformation"% 

They can have no well grounded hope of that 

* Charge of Bishop of London, 1842, p. 59. 

f Leighton on 1 Peter ii. 13, 14. 

J Charge of Bishop of Chester, 1838, p. 2. 



A REMEDY AGAINST SUPERSTITION. 199 



coming which is to usher in " the glorious liberty 
of the children of God," who are bending their 
endeavours, by revived superstitions, to enslave 
the people with a spiritual despotism. 

I hope (I earnestly pray) that the people of 
England will watch with jealousy the signs of 
reviving superstitions, and will have wisdom 
enough to resist them ! 

Certainly they have but little reason to hope for 
the coming of the Lord who would weaken the 
protest against Popery,, which was bought with 
the blood of their fathers : who are willing to 
foster the doctrines which martyred Latimer, 
Hooper, and Bradford. 

But there are those (and not a few such, I trust, 
are present at this time) whose duty and privilege 
it is to look for the coming of Christ with hope : a 
hope which (according to the subject assigned for 
this lecture) should purify their hearts from 
superstition. 

A lively hope, a spiritual reception of the doc- 
trine of the Second Advent, has a direct and 
powerful tendency to deliver the Church of Christ 
from all that is dreamy, unreal, and superstitious. 

It will not satisfy the devotional feelings of the 
enlightened and intelligent believer to "gaze with 
earnestness on a cross," put upon a table, miscalled 
an altar. Such an one will be looking, with the 



200 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 

eye of faith, for the appearing of Jesus, with 
genuine piety. And he will be very far from mis- 
taking the enthusiasm of mere natural excitement, 
and mawkish sentimentality, for all that is " deep 
and tender and serious in devotion." 

His religion is a "reasonable service," not 
depending for its existence upon music, and 
vestures, and architecture. The sweet voices of 
singing boys, the flowing robes of the priestly 
office, the altar duly placed toward the east — these 
are not the things upon which his devotion depends. 
Christ himself is the object of his worship, his 
trust, and his hope. 

Rising from these lower matters of grosser 
superstition, and more carnal religiousness, we 
may proceed to observe that the hope of the Advent 
delivers the Church (or should deliver it) from 
those more subtle forms of superstition which are 
too commonly found in doctrines touching the 
office of the clergy and the ordinances of the 
sanctuary. 

The Church of Christ (looking for their Lord 
from heaven) will not mistake their minister for 
their Master. 

The Church will never allow that Christ has 
delegated to his ministers the power of conferring 
spiritual life at their pleasure : nor willingly suffer 
them to " lord it over God's heritage." 



A "REMEDY AGAINST SUPERSTITION. 201 



The Church will view the clergy in their right 
character ; as the ministers of Christ, not as the 
priests of a Church. And will count them faith fid 
ministers, when they preach u Christ crucified/ 5 
"without reserve, and do not exalt themselves and 
the sacraments above the Lord who made them. 

Ministers such as these the Church of Christ 
will count cc worthy of all honour/' and " esteem 
them very highly in love for their work's sake." 
But the " faithful in Christ Jesus " will look with 
alarm and distress upon worldly, or ambitious, or 
covetous men intruding into the ministry, and 
having no other claim for reverence than apostolic 
succession. 

They may submit in silent grief to such an 
infliction, but they will never consent to idolize a 
man for his ofhce, nor will they be ensnared by 
his false teaching, " for a stranger will they not 
follow : but will flee from him : for they know not 
the voice of strangers." 

"While waiting for the coming of the Lord, the 
Church of Christ will acknowledge no priest hut 
one, " their merciful and faithful High Priest/' 
who ever liveth to make intercession for them. 
Admirable, indeed, are the words of a prelate 
whose station may add weight to the force of his 
sentiments : " AVe hold," says his Lordship, " in 
opposition to the Church of Some, that the offering 

k 3 



202 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



of a propitiatory sacrifice to God, is not one of the 
functions and privileges of the Christian ministry. 
Jesus Christ by one offering hath perfected for ever 
them that are sanctified ; and we derogate from the 
absolute worthiness and sufficiency of that offering, 
if we suppose that any supplementary sacrifices 
are required for the purpose of propitiation. If 
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto 
himself, we need no other reconciler. We have 
indeed our sacrifice and our altar ; and our priest- 
hood to offer the one and to minister at the other : 
but the sacrifice is a spiritual sacrifice, and the 
altar is figuratively an altar. We slay no victim, 
we offer no victim slain ; but we commemorate the 
one great and final sacrifice, properly so called ; 
and we continually present unto God that memo- 
rial with prayer and thanksgiving, and an offering 
of our substance and of ourselves, both soul and 
body."* 

Precisely so : no priests, but spiritual worship- 
pers, and no sacrifice, but simply a " memorial 99 
in the Supper of the Lord. The priesthood is 
spiritual and the sacrifice is figurative. 

And this may lead us farther to remark that 
the hope of the Advent will prove a remedy for 
superstition, in receiving the Sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper. 

* Charge of the Bishop of London, 1842, p. 10. 



A REMEDY AGAINST SUPERSTITION. 



203 



Whilst the more palpable superstition of a bodily 
presence in the bread and wine is rejected, there 
remains a more refined, but no less real, super- 
stition, in the minds of some, called a " spiritual 
presence." 

Some there are who believe that, " the con- 
secrated elements are not what they were before, 
and what to sight they seem : 55 * words which, 
understood in their most inoffensive sense, imply 
at least a spiritual presence of Christ in the bread 
and wine — words, which it seems impossible to 
reconcile with the language of the Twenty-eighth 
Article of the Established Church. " The body 
of Christ/' says that Article, " is given, taken, 
and eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly and 
spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the 
body of Christ received and eaten is faith" Faith 
not the elements ; these are not the channels of 
the Spirit The bread and wine contain not, either 
corporally or spiritually, the presence of Christ. 

This Sacrament, which is called in our Homilies, 
" a preaching by signs,"f preaches no such super- 
stition as this. The bread says, ee He is not in me" 
and the wine says, " He is not in me" Both say, 
as the angel said to the women at the empty tomb, 
" He is not here, for he is risen : as he said." 

* Dr. Pusey to Dr. Jelf, p. 44. 

t Homilies, b. 2, Horn. 21. near the beginning. 



204 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



Men, who have not the Spirit themselves : 
whose lives are evidently worldly, and whose affec- 
tions are earthly, may affirm that they exalt the 
character of the Supper of the Lord by this 
imaginary spiritual presence, after consecration. 
It is plain, by such a doctrine, that they exalt the 
claims of the clergy upon the superstitious regard of 
the people. But as for receiving the Sacrament 
with views such as these, whatever their inten- 
tions, it is to be feared we speak not too strongly 
in saying, they rather prove thereby, that " the 
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit 
of God, for they are foolishness unto him : neither 
can he know them, because they are spiritually 
discerned." 

Men sometimes speak in such a manner of the 
" Spirit and its operations, its channels and its 
means," as plainly to prove to others they " know 
not what manner of spirit they are of." 

Is then the spiritual presence of Christ denied 
to the worthy recipient at the table of the Lord ? 
God forbid. Christ is always present by his 
Spirit in his people there, as elsewhere. He 
always was ; before he came in the flesh, before 
he instituted the Sacrament, and will be till he 
comes again in his glory. 

Certainly Christ is spiritually present when his 
people eat bread (mere bread), and drink wine 



A REMEDY AGAINST SUPERSTITION. 



205 



(mere wine) in "memory of his death, and passion/ 5 
and to " shew forth his death till he come." 

Spiritually present ? Xo question. We cannot 
deny to that fe most comfortable Sacrament/ 5 what 
we allow to private prayer, the communion of the 
saints, the public worship of the sanctuary, and 
the devout reading of his "Word ! I admit, I 
maintain that he is spiritually present with all 
those who, being born again of the Spirit, receive 
that Sacrament with faith. 

"What I deny is, that there is any scriptural 
authority for saying that our Lord is present with 
his people at the Lord's Supper in any other man- 
ner than he is present with them when met together 
in his name ; and what I affirm is, that the body 
and blood of Christ are ee verily and indeed taken 
and received by the faitliful in the Lord's Supper/' 
just as they are verily and indeed taken and re- 
ceived by them whenever at other times they exercise 
faith in his atoning sacrifice. So that to teach men 
to believe any bodily presence, or any other pre- 
sence effected by the consecration of the elements, is 
without the warrant of God's Word. In a word, 
it is a part of that superstition from which the 
Church of Christ should be delivered by the hope 
of the Second Advent. 

And what is the Practical Instruction to be 
gathered from the subject ? 



£06 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



1. The first practical suggestion is, " Set your 
affection" or,, as it is in the margin, "Set your 
mind on things above" where "Christ sitteth at the 
right hand of God, and not on things on the earth." 

It is for want of this that the Christianity (as 
they call it) of many men becomes mere super- 
stition. The name of Christ is in their system, 
but Christ himself is not in their hearts by faith. 
Hence they become a prey to the devices of Satan, 
who fills their minds and wastes their hours with 
superstitious doctrines and empty ceremonies. 
Satan sets them thinking and talking about the 
Church in such a way as to lead them far from 
Christ. He teaches them to seek grace at 
the hands of the Church, justification from her 
sacraments, and pardon from her priests. And 
thus immortal souls are deluded and destroyed! 
Imagining themselves members of the mystical 
body of Christ they perish as members of the 
synagogue of Satan. 

Awful the guilt, terrible the responsibility of 
those who have solemnly vowed to use u all faith- 
ful diligence to banish and drive away all erroneous 
and strange doctrine contrary to God's IVord" * 
and then break their vows, by causing the people 
to err, and destroying those that are led by them ! 

But this will not excuse the guilt of their 
* Ordination Service of bishops and of priests, or presbyters. 



A REMEDY AGAINST SUPERSTITION. 207 



victims, who, neglecting to test the truth of the 
preaching by the Word of God, suffer themselves 
to be misled by culpable ignorance. 

" But we hope better things of you, beloved, 
though we thus speak, and things that accompany 
salvation;" being persuaded, that (from this place 
at least) "ye have not so learned Christ." To 
you, then, the text calls to set your' affections on 
things above ; it tells you to be " looking unto 
Jesus." It reminds you "that your life is hid 
■with Christ in God," and that, "when Christ, 
who is our life, shall appear, we shall be like 
him, for we shall see him as he is." 

2. The second practical suggestion which the 
subject affords to the Church is^ To pray for those 
whose religion is mere superstition. 

However firm and strenuous our opposition to 
error, we shall have little reason for expecting to 
do good, if we cherish not a spirit of kindness 
and compassion for the "people tvho are sitting in 
darkness and hare no light." And whose case 
often becomes the more pitiable, because they 
say "We see." 

TThatever be the advantages in this life attached 
to the position of such characters, they are not to 
be viewed with any other feeling than that of 
compassion ! 



208 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



To hear them dilate upon spiritual things with 
no other success than to expose their spiritual 
ignorance, ought not to provoke the smile of 
contempt but the tear of pity. 

If the Lord in his sovereignty has indeed 
caused us to differ , and given us to know the 
things which belong to our peace, we shall not 
view with unconcern the approaching doom of 
these men ; but pray God if perhaps he will give 
them repentance to the acknowledgment of the 
truth. 

3. A third and concluding suggestion which 
occurs, is To make the hope of the Advent, in all 
respects, a practical subject. 

It is painful to hear the flippant manner in 
which some (who give no very hopeful sign of 
preparation) venture to speak of the speedy 
coming of Christ. 

Those, whose Evangelical attainments reach no 
farther than the conventional language of a party, 
or admiration for an eloquent preacher, can have 
but little cause to rejoice in the near approach of 
the Advent, however interested they may say they 
feel in sermons which prove " the Lord is at 
hand!" 

Their presumptuous boast of enlightened views 
(coupled with their worldly hearts and inconsistent 



A REMEDY AGAINST SUPEHSTITION. 209 

walk) will avail tliem no more in the day of 
the Lord than the midnight darkness of the most 
superstitious. 

" Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye look for such 
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him 
in peace, without spot and blameless." Show by 
your deadness to the world, by crucifying the 
" flesh with its affections and lusts," by fruitful- 
ness in good works, that you are seriously waiting 
for the blessedness of that servant who shall be 
found so doing. Do this, and then " lift up your 
heads with joy, for your redemption draweth 
nigh." " When the chief Shepherd shall appear, 
you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
away." 

In that day you shall bid an eternal farewell 
to sorrow, temptation, and sin. In that day, when 
the formal, the superstitious, the insincere, the 
proud, and the profane shall be consigned to 
their own place, you shall " inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." 

Whilst to others the study of prophecy of the 
coming of Christ is a matter of mere intellectual 
amusement or of speculative inquiry, to you (my 
beloved in Christ) it may well be a subject full 
of heartfelt joy and hope. 

Rejoice, therefore, in hope of the glory of God; 



210 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT, &C. 

and yet "be patient, brethren, unto the coming 
of the Lord;" "behold the husbandman waiteth 
for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long 
patience for it, until he receive the early and 
the latter rain." "Be ye also patient: stablish 
your hearts ; for the coming of the Lord draweth 
nigh!" 



LECTURE IX. 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT A REMEDY 
AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



BY THE REV. J. ELLISON BATES, M.A., 

OF WATERLOO CROSBY, NEAR LIVERPOOL. 



Hebrews XL 1. 

" Note faith is the substance of things hoped for, 
the evidence of things not seen." 

Few tilings discover more plainly the depth to 
which man has fallen than his darkened and defec- 
tive views of the nature of sin. If there were no 
other proof, this alone would show that he is " very 
far gone from original righteousness." No longer 
are God's thoughts his thoughts, and God's ways 
his ways : for, as the heavens are higher than the 
earth, so are God's ways higher than his ways, and 
God's thoughts than his thoughts. 

How widely different are the thoughts of God 



212 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 

and men relative to the sin of unbelief. Unbelief 
is scarcely recognised by the world as having a 
place in the catalogue of moral offences. If a man 
be honest and honourable towards his equals — 
amiable in his family — affable to his inferiors — and 
benevolent to the poor, he has attained to a high 
point in the world's standard of excellence. While 
in the account of God that man may be guilty of a 
sin of the very first magnitude — the sin of unbelief 
— that sin which God has stamped with the brand of 
his most awful displeasure ; for " he that belie veth 
not shall be damned." 

Men may think lightly of unbelief ; not so the 
Word of God. There Ave are told that it pours 
the highest contempt upon God ; for it ee makes 
him a liar and ec it departs from the living God." 
It calls down the most appalling judgments upon 
man. It excluded the Israelites from Canaan; 
" they could not enter in because of unbelief." It 
deprived the people of Nazareth of much of their 
Saviour's presence, and of the manifestation of 
their Saviour's power ; " he did not many mighty 
works there, because of their unbelief." It even 
mingled words of rebuke with the joyful greeting 
of the risen Saviour ; " he upbraided them because 
of their unbelief." And if we ask, wherefore 
have the natural branches been stripped from God's 
olive-tree, and scattered, and peeled over the face 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 213 

of the earthy we receive for answer, " Because of 
unbelief they were broken off." In a word, 
unbelief was the source and spring of man's first 
disobedience ; he believed the devil's lie in pre- 
ference to God's truth: and if all the polluted 
streams that have flowed from that fountain head 
could be analysed, one invariable component would 
be found to be unbelief. Hence our Lord, describing 
the operation of the Holy Ghost, upon the hearts 
of men, said, " He will reprove the world of 
sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, 
because they believe not on me."* As if unbelief 
were the prolific root from which all the branches 
and fruits of sin derive their existence. 

The design of the present lecture is to show 
that " the hope of the advent is a remedy against 
unbelief." And if, (as by God's help we trust,) 
we are able to establish this position, then the oft- 
repeated, but oft-refuted, objection, that prophetic 
studies are destitute of practical influence, will be 
once more disproved. What can possess greater 
claims to practical influence than a truth which not 
merely assails this or that particular branch of sin, 
but aims a blow at the very root ? 

May that glorious Saviour, for whose coming 
and kingdom we are taught to look, and who has 
already received of the Father the promise of the 
Holy Ghost, assist us with his effectual blessing ! 
* John xvi. 8, 9. 



214 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 

111 the present stage of these lectures it will not 
be necessary to define " the Hope of the Advent." 
It will suffice to say, it is the scriptural expectation, 
cherished with an earnest desire of its fulfilment, 
that our Lord will come again — we know not how 
soon — to take to him his great power and to reign. 
Upon this tree for the healing of the nations grow 
fruits of various kinds, such as the resurrection of 
the just, the rapture of living saints, the redemp- 
tion and renewal of the body. And we presume 
that they who sit under the shadow of this tree 
find the fruit also sweet to their taste. They hope 
for the Lord's coming ; and they hope for the 
glories which are connected with his coming. 

With reference to the unbelief which this hope 
is to counteract, it must be premised that we mean 
unbelief in converted Christians. Unbelief may 
be regarded in a twofold point of view, according 
as it exists in the converted or in the unconverted 
heart. In the latter, unbelief holds undivided, 
undisputed, sway ; whereas in the converted, faith 
is an essential and indispensable principle— con- 
version consisting in repentance towards God and 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Still the posses- 
sion of faith does not imply the absence of all 
unbelief. On this point the Christian's experience 
cannot be better described than in the words of 
that prayer, " Lord, I believe ; help thou mine 
unbelief." 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 215 



It is unbelief in the converted to which, our 
subject leads us. A remedy will avail only where 
it is made use of: and none but converted Chris- 
tians can really make use of the hope of the 
Advent. They only cherish this hope ; they only 
endeavour to realize it ; consequently they only 
can find it to be a remedy against sin. 

I have but one more prefatory remark. Faith 
being the gift of God, the only real and radical 
remedy against unbelief is the Holy Spirit's grace. 
But in the bestowal of this grace God is pleased 
often to make use of means ; or, rather, he has com- 
manded us to make use of means in seeking it. 
We hold that one means is cherishing the blessed 
hope of our Saviour's coming again in glory. 

We now proceed to prove this. To this end let 
us take — 

I. Some of the causes whence unbelief arises ; 
and, 

II. Some of the forms which it assumes ; show- 
ing, as we go along, how the Hope of the Advent 
is calculated to check the one, and to correct the 
other. 

1. Unbelief, then, may arise from doubting the 
meaning of GooVs promises. What, we would ask, 
is so likely to produce a general spirit of unbelief 
as indistinct and indefinite conceptions of the 
meaning of that large proportion of promises 



216 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



which, bear upon the Second Advent. We are told 
in the text that ce faith is the substance of things 
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." But 
if the things hoped for and unseen possess no sub- 
stance — if they present no clear, distinct, and 
denned meaning, how can we entertain a firm 
conviction of their reality ? In proportion as our 
conception of the meaning of God's promises is 
confused and undefined, so will our faith be feeble 
and faltering. Nor can it be said in answer that 
this may be the case in reference to promises con- 
nected with the Second Advent, but why should it 
apply to other portions of God's Word ? If we 
encourage, or even allow, doubts concerning one 
branch of revelation, we open the door to unbelief 
respecting others also. The habit of a doubtful 
and indistinct reception of truth, allowed upon one 
point, will speedily extend, and undermine the 
general stability of our faith ; and hence will arise 
the evil we deprecate. 

The remedy for this evil is the Hope of the 
Advent. For if faith be the substance of things 
hoped for, surely the clearer our conception of the 
things for which we hope, the stronger will be our 
faith. If faith be the evidence of things not seen, 
the more the unseen things take root, and grow in 
the heart, the less room will there be for the 
springing of unbelief. The question therefore 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 217 

resolves itself into this, " What are the things 
hoped for, and not seen, which are to be siib- 
stantiated and evidenced to the mind?" For an 
answer let us refer to the preceding context, where 
it will be seen that the great truth proposed in this 
passage as the object of faith is that declared in 
chap. x. ver. 37, u He that shall come will come, 
and will not tarry." It was this annotmcement of 
the Second Advent as the object of faith which led 
the apostle to give the general definition of faith 
set forth in the text, and then to illustrate and 
establish that general definition by numerous 
instances from Old Testament history. Connect, 
then, this general definition of faith with the fore- 
going statement of the Second Advent, which 
drew it from the apostle's pen ; and the conclusion 
is obvious, that the things hoped for, and not seen, 
are connected with the cominsr of our Lord Jesus 

o 

Christ. His coming is the thing hoped for by the 
Church ; as the apostle reminds Titus, " Looking 
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of 
the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ/" 
The revelation of his glory is the thing not seen. 
" We see not yet all things put under him." But 
though not seen as yet, it shall be seen hereafter ; 
for "the Father hath put all things in subjection 
under his feet."* * 
* Heb. ii. 8L 
L 



218 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



Let, then,, this hope of a Saviour's coming be 
received in all the plainness and simplicity with 
which it is propounded. Let the unseen things of 
a Saviour's glory assume that distinct and definite 
form in which they are presented in the Word of 
God, and they will become the sustenance of a 
vigorous and lively faith ; the antidote of a sickly 
and unsettled state of unbelief. 

2. Unbelief may arise not only from doubting, but 
from misunderstcmding the meaning of the promises. 

To illustrate this, we find in Scripture numerous 
promises of great earthly prosperity to the people 
of God. Take, for instance, Isaiah lxv. 21,22: 
" They shall build houses, and inhabit them ; and 
they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of 
them. They shall not build, and another inhabit ; 
they shall not plant, and another eat : for as the 
days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine 
elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." 

Now there is, even in sincere Christians, a 
natural proneness to expect a certain measure of 
present ease and earthly enjoyment from the ser- 
vice of Christ. It is the very same disposition 
which showed itself so repeatedly in our Saviour's 
disciples. The desire of a present portion, and an 
earthly inheritance, was not confined to the fisher- 
men on the Galilean lake. It is indigenous to the 
soil of every human heart. Under the influence 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



219 



of this natural feeling, the Christian may be led 
to appropriate promises connected with millen- 
nial blessedness, and to build upon them his own 
airy structures of present earthly happiness. What 
follows ? Hopes and expectations based upon a 
misapplication of Scripture sooner or later fail. 
Faith in God's Word receives a shock; and a 
measure of unbelief is thus insensibly generated. 

The doctrine of the Second Advent provides u 
remedy. It teaches us to distinguish between the 
character of this dispensation, and of that which is 
to succeed the Lord's appearing. It leads to a 
clearer perception that the present portion of God's 
children is spiritual blessing combined with earthly 
tribulation. Here te we suffer with Jesus :"" here- 
after "we shall reign with him." Looking for 
glory only when Christ is glorified upon earth, 
and expecting tribulation as long as Christ is dis- 
honoured upon earth, we are guarded from mis- 
understanding and misapplying those promises 
which hold out great earthly prosperity to the 
people of God. Not that these views of the pre- 
sent dispensation make us question our heavenly 
Father's love, or doubt the largeness of his bounty. 
Already "he hath blessed us with all spiritual 
blessings in heavenly places in Christ."* But, for 
that promised peace, prosperity, and universal 
* Ephes. i. 3. 
L 2 



\ HE HOYS. OJ- \ HE A OV KN'T 



prevalence of the love and far of the Lore 1 in the 
earth, we cannot, sec- that it is foretold, or that it 
is to he e xpected, until our Saviour comes again in 
glory. Possessing this clue to the general cha- 
racter of this dispensation, we are preserved from 
drawing from the Word of God present expecta- 
tion , which that Word, when rightly understood, 
does not justify. Cherishing this hope of the 
glory that shall be revealed, wo are- also prepared 
for the mortification:;, crosse . and afflictions, which 
meet us in our pilgrimage. W'e are " not greatly 
moved ;" because our expectation is from him for 
whose coming, kingdom, and glory, we are taught 
to look. We build the structure of our hopes, not 
upon the shifting sandg of present happiness, hut 
upon the solid rock of the promise of Cod, that 
* -//;Ae//, /m yA>ry .s//^// /;c roxcalr.d, we also shall be 
glad with exceeding joy." Therefore, when afflic- 
tions overtake us, we are not so much surprised or 
disappointed. The rains may descend, the floods 
come, and the winds blow, hut our house will not 
fall; our hope will not fail us; our faith will not 
be shaken. It is the mistaking the purposes of 
God which occasions disappointment; and dis- 
appointment in turn produces unbelief. But if 
the Saviour's Advent be our hope there- can be no 
disappointment, for " He that shall come, will 
come, and will not tarry." 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



221 



3. Again, the evil we are combating may arise 
from supposing the heavenly inheritance to be 
distant. Unbelief may spring, not from uncer- 
tainty, but from the supposed distance or delay of 
the thing promised. The wicked servant said in 
his heart, "My Lord delayeth his coming;" he 
regarded the event as distant, and then followed 
practical unbelief. " He began to eat and to 
drink, and be drunken and at last he had his 
portion with the unbelievers. 

But cherish the hope of the Lord's coming 
again, and the event can no longer appear distant 
to the eye of faith ; for it is the peculiarity of the 
doctrine of the Second Advent, that we are directed 
always to regard that event as near at hand. The 
lapse of time has indeed proved that nearly eigh- 
teen centuries were to intervene between the 
apostolic age and the Saviour's Advent ; but even 
in those early days the inspired writers exhorted 
Christians to regard the Advent as soon to take 
place. From the day that the Lord Jesus ascended, 
and angels announced to his astonished disciples, 
" This same Jesus which is taken up from you 
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye 
have seen him go into heaven," the Second Advent 
has been the one chief object on which the Church 
has been taught to set her hopes. For this she is 



222 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



bidden to look ; for this she is to long ; unto this 
she is to hasten. And the effect of thus looking, 
longing, and hasting, is the establishment of our 
faith. " Every man that hath this hope in him, 
purifieth himself, even as He is pure." And 
purity of heart, as it springs from faith, so in turn 
it reproduces faith. 

It may be said, in objection, that the expectation 
of death will be an equally effective remedy against 
unbelief. But where, we ask, are we exhorted to 
look, and to long, and to hasten unto death ? If, 
moreover, as is often the case, we be in possession 
of health, and strength, and vigour, we may talk 
of the nearness of death, but we too often act as if 
its approach were very far removed. Perhaps 
nothing shows more plainly the difference between 
speculative and practical belief than this very 
thing. Every one expects to die, but how many 
act as if they would live for ever. And though 
we do not here include converted Christians, yet 
even with them the expectation of death fails 
under ordinary circumstances to produce much 
practical effect ; and, we believe, for this reason, 
death is not set forth in the Word of God as an 
object to be desired, and sought, and prayed for. 
Death comes in consequence of the curse ; the 
Saviour comes that there may be no more curse — 



A REMEDY AGAIXST UNBELIEF. 



223 



no more death ; hence we pray, " Come, Lord 
Jesus, come quickly.' 5 And prayer giving near- 
ness to the promises, represses unbelief. 

4. Further, unbelief may be occasioned by dis- 
regarding the inheritance. 

Blessed and glorious as the prospect of heaven 
is, it is a mournful fact, that with many the ear 
grows tired of hearing of it. And though the 
joyful sound cannot weary spiritually-minded 
Christians, yet, from its failing to present any very 
distinct or defined ideas, the hope of heaven does 
not exert that influence upon their hearts which 
they themselves coidd desire. The things of this 
present world, on the other hand, are distinct and 
defined, and near at hand ; and from this cause 
they too often obtain an undue influence. Whence 
is it that so many, even among professing Chris- 
tians, become immersed in worldly pursuits ; en- 
tangled in extravagant speculations, — -joining house 
to house, and field to field, — exhibiting such an 
undue anxiety about their position and appearance 
in the world ? It is from the working of practical 
unbelief : — that unbelief which disregards the 
promised inheritance. 

Again we have recourse to the hope of our 
Lord's appearing. This hope presents the pro- 
mised inheritance in a real and substantial form, 
as an object to engage our pursuit. It brings it 



224 



THE HOPE OE THE ADVENT 



very near within the reach of faith. It gives life 
and form and energy to things unseen ; opening, 
as it were, the graves, and bringing up out of the 
graves promises which lie upon the field of holy 
Scripture, like the bones in the open valley, very 
dead and very dry. It lays sinews upon them, 
and brings up flesh upon them ; covers them with 
skin, and puts breath into them so that they live 
and stand up an exceeding great army, — an army, 
mighty through God to resist those fleshly lusts 
which war against the soul : yea, " to beat them 
small as the dust before the wind ; to cast them 
out as the dirt in the streets." (Ps. xviii. 42.) 

We shall find that earthly objects cease to 
interest, worldly pursuits fail to attract, in pro- 
portion as the things hoped for obtain a plain and 
palpable subsistence in the mind. Thus the 
doctrine under notice operates as a check to that 
practical unbelief, which, disregarding the inherit- 
ance,. " savours not the things that be of God, but 
those that be of men." 

5. To name but one more source of unbelief. 
It may arise from despising the promises. Thus 
it is written of the Israelites who entered not into 
Canaan, u Yea, they despised the pleasant land, 
they believed not his word."* 

It may possibly be questioned, whether a sincere 
* Ps. cvi. 24. 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



225 



Christian can, in any measure, despise God's 
promises. But this we know for certain, that he 
can despise God's chastisements, or why should he 
be cautioned, " My son, despise not thou the 
chastening of the Lord?" And he can despise the 
extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, or why 
should the Christians of Thessalonica be warned, 
"Despise not prophesyings?" Xow, if sincere 
Christians can despise the dispensations of God's 
providence, and the possession of spiritual gifts, 
both of which are present to them here, how much 
more is it possible to despise promises, the accom- 
plishment of which is future, and to be enjoyed 
hereafter? Xo Christian will deliberately despise 
the heavenly inheritance. But what he will not 
do deliberately, he too often does insensibly. He 
practically undervalues the things not seen, and 
eternal. And to the extent that he despises 
heavenly things, he gives encouragement to a 
spirit of unbelief. 

AVe shall find a corrective in the Hope of the 
Advent. Where that hope lives in the heart it is 
not a bare and barren speculation; it leads the 
soul to dwell much, and to delight much, in the 
glories in which the believer will then participate. 
Bringing home many a rich cluster from the land 
of promise, it spreads them before the mind in 
such an engaging light, that they can hardly be 

l 3 



226 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



despised. Can the assurance be lightly valued, 
that " when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, 
we also shall appear with him in glory u we shall 
be like him; we shall see him as he is ;"f "He 
shall change our vile body that it may be like unto 
his glorious body We shall either be caught up 
to meet the Lord in the air ; or if we have slept in 
Jesus, we shall be brought with him, when he 
comes "to be glorified in his saints, and to be 
admired in all them that believe." § 

These and many other glorious expectations are 
connected with the Hope of the Second Advent- — 
expectations in which the believer has a personal 
and individual interest. Where this hope is really 
cherished, the soul delights to count over its 
treasures ; to single and sort out its jewels ; to 
hold them up and admire them one by one ; and 
thus to form a more correct estimate of their worth. 
Whereas, if they be only looked at, as they lie in 
a confused heap under the vague and indistinct 
idea of heaven, their value, exceeding great and 
precious as it is, may be comparatively despised. 

So far, then, the Hope of the Advent has been 
shown to be a remedy against the causes of un- 
belief. It preserves us from doubting, and from 
misunderstanding, the meaning of the promises of 

* Col. iii. 4. f 1 John iii. 2. t Phil. iii. 21. 

§ 1 Thess. iv. 14, 17; 2 Thess. i. 10. 



i 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 227 

God ; from treating them as distant ; from dis- 
regarding them. ; and from despising them. 

II. Having thus examined the causes, we ad- 
vance a step farther , and consider some of the 
forms in which, unbelief may be exhibited : still 
endeavouring to show that the hope of which we 
speak is one great scriptural remedy to check the 
progress of this spiritual malady. 

1. One of the most fatal forms in which unbelief 
is seen is in drawing bach. This may be gathered 
from the words immediately preceding the text. 
" We are not of them who draw back unto per- 
dition, but of them that believe to the saving of 
the soul."* To believe is, therefore, the antidote to 
drawing back, and, on the other hand, drawing 
back is the effect of unbelief. We do not regard 
this passage as involving a denial of that most 
blessed truth, that believers, born of God, cannot 
finally draw back and be lost for ever. God has 
promised, " I will make an everlasting covenant 
with them, that I will not turn away from them to 
do them good ; and I will put my fear in their 
hearts that they shall not depart from me." And 
He is faithful that promised. Without, then, 
giving countenance to the unscriptural notion that 
any one, born of God, can finally fall away, 
(for they that draw back unto perdition were 
* Heb. x. 39. 



£28 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



never born of God ; their apostasy affords the 
most conclusive and convincing proof that the 
incorruptible seed was never lodged in their 
hearts ;) yet we should be guilty of corrupting the 
Word of God if we did not derive from this 
solemn passage a warning to ourselves, to see that 
our faith is indeed the faith of God's elect — that 
faith which, being the gift of God and the work of 
his Spirit, will neither fail us in time of temptation, 
nor suffer us finally to draw back unto perdition. 

Having thus guarded against misapprehension 
of the passage, we may deduce from it this instruc- 
tion : that the tendency of unbelief is to make the 
Christian so far draw back, as to lag and loiter on 
his heavenward path, — to linger and look back at 
the things that are behind. And though by grace 
preserved from that daring and deliberate desire 
co return to the city of destruction, which proved 
fatal to Lot's wife, yet his spiritual powers are for 
a time paralyzed : he becomes almost as cold and 
stiff and motionless, in the things of God, as the 
pillar of salt amidst the cities of the plain. 

Observe, then, in the passage to which I have 
adverted (Heb. x. 35), how the apostle deals with 
those concerning whom he feared lest they should 
draw back through unbelief: " Cast not away 
therefore your confidence,, which hath great recom- 
pence of reward." Thus he exhorts them not to 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



229 



yield to unbelief; and this exhortation is after- 
wards followed up with tire Hope of the Advent : 
" He that shall corae, will come, and will not tarry." 

The hope, thus proposed to others, the apostle 
cherished himself; and he experienced its stimu- 
lating influence. His well-known words to the 
Philippians are, " forgetting those tilings which 
are behind, and reaching forth to those which are 
before, I press towards the mark for the prize 
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Ask 
you what that prize was, — the hope of which thus 
strengthened his faith, and stimulated his ardent 
zeal ? It was the prize to be awarded at the Lord's 
appearing. Hear him describe it to Timothy : 
employing the same metaphor of the race, he says, 
" I have finished my course ; henceforth there is 
laid up for me a crown of glory, which the Lord, 
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day : 
and not to me only, but unto all them that love 
his appearing." It was the hope of the Lord's 
appearing, and the crown to be then received, 
which made him run with such ardour the race 
set before him; he neither flagged nor faltered 
through unbelief, strengthened and stimulated by 
this hope of the prize. 

2. Another mode in which unbelief exhibits 
itself is that of impatience. That the tendency of 
unbelief or distrust is to produce impatience may 



230 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



be seen in several of the characters of Scripture. 
Take, for instance, Sarah, the wife of Abraham. 
Unwilling to tarry till the Lord should visit her, 
she must have a child at once by Hagar, rather 
than patiently w^ait for her own promised Isaac. 
Delay occasioned unbelief : unbelief induced im- 
patience. So the conduct of Saul, king of Israel, 
shows how distrust begets impatience. Because 
Samuel came not at the appointed time, Saul's 
faith failed ; and then, through impatience, he 
trangressed the commandment of God. c( As for 
this Moses, 5 ' said the unbelieving Israelites, " we 
know not what is become of him." Whence the 
impatient demand : " Make us gods to go before 
us." These instances prove that impatience is but 
a form of unbelief. 

If, then, it is important, — if it is indispensable 
that we should add to other graces patience, — that 
we should be strengthened with all might, accord- 
ing to his glorious power, unto all patience, — that 
we should run with patience in order to obtain 
the prize, — if, in one word, " we have need of 
patience" then should we cherish the Hope of the 
Advent : for this hope is a scriptural check to 
impatience. Thus the Apostle James exhorts, u Be 
patient, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord." 
And again, " Be ye therefore patient; stablishyour 
hearts ; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



231 



The influence of this hope in producing pa- 
tience, and so lopping off one of the branches of 
unbelief, may be farther gathered from the words 
of St. Paul to the Thessalonians : " He thanks 
God for their work of faith, and labour of love, 
and patience of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ." 
(1 Thess. i. 3.) The precise nature of this hope 
in the Lord Jesus Christ may be learned from the 
close of the chapter, where he reminds these 
Christians how they had " turned to God from 
idols to serve the living and true God ; and to to ait 
for his Soji from heaven" The waiting for the 
Son of God from heaven is thus shown to be the 
subject of then hope, and its influence is very 
plainly declared ; for as the expression, " work of 
faith," means work that proceeded from faith ; and 
" labour of love," labour that proceeded from love ; 
so their cc patience of hope" signifies the patience 
that proceeded from hope. In other w^ords, the 
hope of the Lord's coming produced patience. 
Hope has a natural tendency to make us patient. 
The hope of enjoying the fruits of the earth in 
due season, induces the husbandman to plough 
and sow, and endure with much patience the 
labours of the field. And shall it not produce 
patience in a believer's bosom to hope for that 
harvest of glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, 
which, in " His times he shall show, who is the 



232 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 

blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, 
and Lord of lords."* Surely nothing will tend 
more to check unbelieving impatience than look- 
ing forward with lively hope to that event, which 
the Word of God sets forth as the termination of 
all our sorrows, the time of recompence of all our 
surfer ings. 

3. Undue depression under affliction is another 
form of unbelief. " All these things are against 
me," exclaimed the afflicted patriarch ; whereas^ 
had faith been in lively exercise, he would rather 
have said, 66 Our light affliction which endureth 
but for a moment, worketh for us a far more 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory." " I 
reckon that the sufferings of this present time 
are not worthy to be compared to the glory that 
shall be revealed in us." With a Christian it is 
not merely the affliction, but the weakness of his 
faith in affliction that occasions such depression. 
Be the draught of sorrow never so bitter, lively 
faith can sweeten it from the cup of God's love. 
Whereas unbelief tastes nothing but the worm- 
wood and the gall. Faith looks upward, and in 
the darkest cloud discerns the bow of promise ; 
while to the eye of unbelief, intent upon the 
earth, all seems enveloped in gloom and darkness. 

Now it is the province of the hope we are 
* 1 Tim. vi. 15. 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 238 

advocating to raise the dejected spirit; to invite 
the sorrowing soul to look upward and onward 
to the promises in store ; and to perceive more 
clearly for what purpose affliction is appointed. 
Thus St. Peter offers the balm of consolation to 
those who were "in heaviness through manifold 
temptations/' reminding them of the purpose for 
which their afflictions were sent — " that the trial 
of their faith being much more precious than of 
gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, 
might be found unto praise, and honour, and 
glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." And 
again (in a passage that may recall to our minds 
the conduct of him who chose rather to suffer 
affliction with the people of God, because he had 
respect unto the recompence of the reward), St. 
Peter urges the afflicted to look onward, saying, 
" Beloved, think it not strange concerning the 
fiery trial that is to try you, as if some strange 
thing happened unto you ; but rather rejoice ; in- 
asmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, 
that when his glory shall be revealed, ye also may 
rejoice with exceeding joy." In these passages of 
St. Peter, the appearing of Jesus Christ and the 
revelation of his glory are proposed as the correc- 
tive of undue depression. 

But we have other authority than that of the 
apostle. Our Saviour himself, in his last affecting 



234 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



conversation with his disciples, employs this hope 
as a check to their unbelief and excessive sorrow. 
" Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in 
God, believe also in me." And then having 
declared for what purpose he was about to leave 
them, he adds, " I will come again, and receive 
you unto myself; that where I am there ye may 
be also."* Thus his return in glory is proposed as 
the antidote to their unbelieving fears, " Strengthen 
ye the weak hands," says the Lord by the Prophet 
Isaiah, " confirm the feeble knees ; say to them 
that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not ; 
behold your God will come with vengeance, even 
God with a recompence, he will come and save you." 

This hope of his coming is the secret spring of 
joy in tribulation — "We rejoice in hope of the 
glory of God ;" and this, not merely when we are 
at ease, and in peace, " but we glory in tribulation 
also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, 
and patience experience, and experience hope." 
And this hope of the glory of God, to be revealed 
in Christ Jesus, at his appearing, is a check to 
unbelief; by setting before us the limit of our 
sorrows and afflictions ; by supplying an explan- 
ation of that mysterious providence which often 
spares the wicked and smites the righteous; by assur- 
ing us that yet a little while, and " Behold, the 
* John xiv. 1. 3. 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 235 

tabernacle of God will be with men, and lie will 
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, 
and God himself shall be with them, and be their 
God. And God shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there beany 
more pain: for the former things are passed away." 

4. Another form under which unbelief is ex- 
hibited (and it is the last we shall name), is that of 
spiritual drowsiness and slumber. That unbelief 
shows itself thus is evident from what St. Paul says 
of the Jews. In the same chapter of the Epistle 
to the Romans, in which he declares that they were 
broken off because of unbelief, he describes their 
state in the language of the Prophet Isaiah, " God 
hath poured upon them the spirit of slumber." 
Xor are we to suppose from this that spiritual 
slumber and drowsiness are dangers which attach 
only to the unconverted. " While the bridegroom 
tarried they all slumbered and slept," wise as well 
as foolish. Hence, in the same Epistle, St. Paul 
warns even Christians that " now it is high time 
to awake out of sleep." Mark, then, the con- 
sideration by which this warning is enforced, - For 
now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 
The night is far spent, the day is at hand." In 
exact harmony with which the Thessalonians are 
exhorted, " But ye, brethren, are not in darkness ; 



286 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



that that day (from the context, " the day of the 
Lord") should overtake you as a thief. 5 ' " There- 
fore let us ii ot sleep, as do others, but let us watch 
and be sober."* 

In these passages we have both the disease and 
the remedy. The disease, that spiritual drowsiness, 
from which even the people of God are in danger : 
the remedy is declared to be the watchful expecta- 
tion of the day of the Saviour's Advent. What 
was it that broke the slumber of the virgins in the 
parable ? It was the cry, " Behold, the bridegroom 
cometh, go ye out to meet him." In other words, 
the setting forth the Hope of the Advent is the 
means ordained of God for rousing the Church 
from the drowsiness of unbelief, and for preparing 
her to take her stand as a virgin in readiness for 
the Bridegroom's appearing. 

The frequency with which this motive to watch- 
fulness and prayer is inculcated in the New Testament 
must be familiar to every one. "Watch therefore," 
is our Lord's oft-repeated injunction, "for ye 
know neither the day, nor the hour, when the Son 
of man cometh." And again, " Watch ye there- 
fore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted 
worthy to escape all these things that shall come to 
pass, and to stand before the Son of man." 

Thus the keeping in view our Saviour's coming 
* 1 Thess. v. 4—6. 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



237 



is conducive to watchfulness and prayer ; habits, 
which, of all others, are the most effectual preser- 
vatives against unbelief. " Let your loins be 
girded about, and your lights burning : and ye 
yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, 
when he will return from the wedding : that when 
he cometh and knocketh they may open unto him 
immediately : Blessed are those servants whom the 
Lord when he cometh shall find watching/' 

We have thus considered some of the forms in 
which unbelief shows itself. In drawing back — 
in impatience — hi undue depression — and in spi- 
ritual drowsiness. Whether, therefore, we regard 
the causes from which this evil arises or the forms 
in which it is developed, the blessed hope of our 
Lord's glorious Advent is an efficacious remedy, 
as well for its prevention as for its cure. 

Need we. then, in conclusion, say more to 
commend this branch of Divine truth to your 
attentive regard. If, beloved brethren, " God. 
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith 
he loved you, even when you were dead in sins, 
hath quickened you together with Christ if, by 
his Holy Spirit working upon your hearts, He 
hath called you to the knowledge of his grace and 
faith in him ; you have not to be told what value 
to assign to a remedy against unbelief. A remedv 
will be prized in proportion as we know the conse- 



238 



THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT 



quences of the malady it counteracts. Know you 
the consequences of unbelief ? Death and ever- 
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,, 
and from the glory of his power, are its conse- 
quences upon the unconverted. To such the 
Lord's Advent can be no subject of hope ; seeing 
He will " come in flaming fire ; to take vengeance 
on them that know not God, and obey not the 
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." To such the 
subject of this evening has not addressed itself; 
but we would say to all, as the apostle said even 
to "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly 
calling " — " Take heed, brethren, lest there be in 
any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing 
from the living God." See that your faith is " the 
faith of God's elect;" that it stands not in the 
wisdom of men, but in the power of God ; that it 
consists not of a mere assent to these, and other 
truths ; but that it is a living principle inwrought 
by the Holy Ghost. The faith which receives 
Christ in you, the hope of glory," which purifies 
the heart, works by love, overcomes the world, 
and waits for the Son of God from heaven ; 
believing that he hath delivered us from the wrath 
to come. 

If, through sovereign mercy, you have obtained 
this precious faith, give God all the glory, and take 
to yourselves the comfort that He who has been 



A REMEDY AGAINST UNBELIEF. 



239 



the " Author of this faith 55 will be its " finisher; 55 
" He who hath begun this good work will carry it 
on to the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. 55 Unbelief 
cannot destroy you. But may it not distress you ? 
Yes ; if you are born of God you know that, as far 
as unbelief prevails, it brings darkness of soul, and 
distance from God ; it deprives you of spiritual 
comfort, and indisposes you for active exertion in 
the service of your Master. At all times, and 
under all circumstances, a remedy against unbelief 
must be valuable. 

But as the day approaches, that value will in- 
crease tenfold. The times which precede our Lord 5 s 
appearing will be times of great peril and general 
perplexity. " Men's hearts failing them for fear, 
and for looking for those things which are coming 
on the earth. 55 " There shall arise false Christs 
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and 
wonders; insomuch, that if it were possible, they 
shall deceive the very elect. 55 And what will 
preserve the very elect from being deceived? What 
will keep them from being drawn away into the 
error of the wicked? The power of God, through 
the operation of faith. " They will be kept by the 
power of God, through faith, unto salvation, ready 
to be revealed in the last time. 55 If, then, under 
ordinary troubles Christians need the support and 
strength which this hope has been shown to admi- 



240 THE HOPE OF THE ADVENT, &C. 

nister, how much more will it be required in those 
days of approaching tribulation and unparalleled 
distress for which it becomes us to be prepared ? 

Do you, then, brethren, under present trials — - 
do you, in the prospect of impending tribulation, 
pray, " Lord, increase our faith?" Cherish, we 
entreat you, the Hope of the Advent. But we 
cannot urge too frequently, or insist too forcibly, 
that it is the hope, not the mere expectation of the 
Advent, from which this practical influence proceeds. 

Be yours the hope which arises from earnest 
desire — " earnestly desiring to be clothed upon 
with our house which is from heaven." The hope 
which is accompanied with love — hope " makes 
not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad 
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given 
unto us." The hope which yearns with longing 
expectation — " We which have the first-fruits of 
the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within our- 
selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the re- 
demption of our body;" but which yet endures 
with long-suffering patience ; " hoping for that we 
see not, we do with patience wait for it." Such is 
the hope you must cherish, if you would possess a 
remedy against unbelief. Let it engage, nay, let 
it engross all the powers and affections of your 
mind; and may the Lord direct your hearts into 
the love of God , and into patient waiting for Christ ! 



LECTURE X. 



RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, NATIONAL DUTIES 
IN THE PROSPECT OF CHRIST'S COMING AND 
KINGDOM. 



BY THE REV. E. BICKERSTETH, 

RECTOR OF WATTON, HERTS. 



Daniel IV. 27. 

" Wherefore, 0 King, let my counsel he acceptable 
unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteous- 
ness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to 
the poor ; if it ?nay be a lengthening of thy 
tranquillity." 

The second coming of Christ is not merely a doc- 
trine needful and profitable for our personal edifi- 
cation as private Christians, but it has also a most 
important connexion with the duties of nations at 
large. He is the Prince of the kings of the earth. 
To him rulers and governors have to give 

M 



242 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

account for the maxims of their government in 
all their relations to time and eternity. How 
very different is the view of national duty when 
thus realized to any view that merely regards 
earthly and temporary considerations. Parliaments, 
Senates, and Statesmen have a Supreme Governor, 
who will shortly summon all to his bar of judg- 
ment, and ail their measures, laws and statutes, 
will be revised at his judgment seat, whose approval, 
whose condemnation, infallibly righteous, final, 
irreversible, and everlasting, will be found to be 
the one judgment, mainly to be regarded, and of 
supreme importance. 

Nebuchadnezzar was an example on this subject. 
The wonderful vision which he had interpreted 
by the Prophet Daniel, is full of abiding instruc- 
tion. He was told, Thou, 0 King, art a king 
of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a 
kingdom, and power, and strength, and glory. 
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the 
beasts of the field and the foiols of the heaven hath 
he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler 
over them all. Thou art this head of gold. As 
monarch of the first universal empire he had all 
power and might, and was full of ambition and 
pride. This brought upon him his merited punish- 
ment, and upon that followed his repentance, and 
then his restoration. His debasement is that of 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



243 



all governments, when they shall rule for their 
own glory, and not the glory of Christ. 

In the fourth chapter of Daniel, we have Ne- 
buchadnezzar's full acknowledgment and public 
confession of his sin. in not knowing that the Most 
High ruled in the kingdom of men, closing with 
praises to God for his restoration. It is a decree 
published to all people, nations, and languages 
that dwell upon all the earth. It belongs to all, and 
God has secured its widest publication, by direct- 
ing his beloved servant Daniel to include it in the 
inspired writings of his own Word. There is 
reason to think it a typical history of the recovery 
of the nations of the earth from all their idolatries 
to the worship and service of God at the return of 
our Lord and Saviour. It is full of seasonable, 
suitable, and practical instruction to us now. 

The advice of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, given 
in the prospect of severe judgments, was, Wherefore, 
0 King, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, 
and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine 
iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor ; if it may 
be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. This advice 
applies to nations now in the prospect of the 
Lord's return to judge the earth, and take ven- 
geance on his proud and rebellious creatures. It 
directs governments to the only safe course, for 
the welfare of the country over which they rule. 
m 2 



244 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

God's judgments, if they be not finally averted, 
may be delayed by repentance, as we see in the 
case of Nineveh. There may be a lengthening of 
our tranquillity ; or if that be impossible, through 
general national iniquity, there will, at any rate, be 
a deliverance of our own souls. 

In this advice of Daniel we may observe a two- 
fold duty, like the cwo tables of the law; sins 
against God are to be broken off by righteousness, 
and iniquities against man, by shewing mercy to 
the poor. 

The Lord graciously assist us with his Holy 
Spirit, and enable me, with faithful love, to lay 
before you this truly important subject committed 
to me on this occasion, — our national duty in 

THE PROSPECT OF CHRIST'S COMING AND KINGDOM. 

Let us consider, 

I. National duties towards God. 

II. National duties towards men. 

III. The motive to these duties in the prospect 
of the Lord's coming. 

I. NATIONAL DUTIES TOWARDS GOD. 

Every part of God's Word may shew us that 
such duties exist. If nations, as such, are capable 
of engagements towards each other, they must be 
capable of duties and obligations towards God 
himself. If they nationally confess their obligations 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



245 



to God, and fulfil them, they are religious and 
blessed ; if they reject and deny them as nations, 
they are under a curse for their ungodliness. 

This is a most important principle to be insisted 
upon at this time, when we are exposed to two 
opposite evils ; either a blind submission to corrupt 
authorities seeking to bring us into bondage by 
mere self-righteous formalism on the one hand; 
or the contrast evil, the lawless rejection of human 
authority. 

The absolute duty of monarchs and nations to 
give their royal and national support to the truth 
as it is in Jesus, is clearly revealed in the Word of 
God, and is the very foundation of the British 
Constitution, fully laid at the glorious Reformation, 
and distinctly manifested at every fresh coronation 
of our monarchs. It is predicted of the Redeemer, 
that he shall bear the glory, and sit and rule upon 
his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne. 
It is equally a rejection of his rights to deny or 
withhold his supremacy, either in ecclesiastical or 
in civil legislature and government. Very clearly 
has our British Constitution announced this, when 
the archbishop says to the monarch at the corona- 
tion, te Remember that the whole world is subject 
to the power and empire of Christ our Redeemer, 
For he is the Prince of the Kings of the earth, 



246 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

King of kings, and Lord of lords ; so that no man 
can reign happily who derives not his authority 
from him, and directs not all his actions according 
to his laws. 5 ' There can be no neutrality on this 
question. To profess neutrality respecting the 
supreme authority of Christ and his Word in legis- 
lation and government is to number ourselves with 
his avowed enemies. In short, all power in heaven 
and earth is given to our Lord Jesus Christ, is 
distributed by him as he pleases, is derived from 
him, and is to be used for him according to his 
revealed will. The earth is the Lord's, and the 
fulness thereof. Until Christianity is made the 
law of the land in every kingdom, and the law of 
the heart in every human being, his just rights are 
withheld ; he is rebelhously kept out of his proper 
kingdom ; he is defrauded of his own inheritance. 
In an heraldry that cannot err, in the heraldry of 
heaven, he is King of kings and Lord of lords. 
However any one whatever, monarch, priest, 
prince, or people, may have refused submission to 
his authority, or have usurped that authority, or 
resisted it in those to whom he has given it, he will 
speedily appear, bring all unto judgment, and 
destroy those who have rebelled against him. He 
will now soon return in his glory, reward those 
faithful to him, and sit on his throne, the acknow- 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



247 



ledged Monarch of the whole earth. All kings 
shall fall down before him ; all nations shall serve 
him.* Yain is it, under the pretence of allegiance 
to the head of the Church, and of Christian liberty, 
to refuse submission, in things lawful, to the 
powers that be and are ordained of God. Equally 
vain is it, under pretence of submission to the 
powers that be, to yield to corrupt authorities that 
entire subjection which is only due to the Lord of 
all, and his clearly revealed will. He has charged 
us to obey God rather than man, and, in obeying 
man, to have chief regard to His supreme authority, 
as contained in His word. His Word, therefore, 
is the only sure light to our paths, the only safe 
lamp to our feet. 

In considering our national duties towards 
God, let us guard, then, against opposite dangers. 

National duties are many ; we will notice some 
of the principal. 

1. National worship. 

The nation which acknowledges the faith of 
Christ, should unitedly, under its monarch or 
rulers, and as a part of its whole system of action, 
publicly worship God, and openly acknowledge 
the dependence of the nation on Him. Such 
national worship was rendered by the kings of 

* See this clearly and well stated in " Crosthwaite's Sermon 
on the Establishment of Christianity," pp. 113 and 114. 



248 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

Israel in their solemn feasts. It was given by 
Nebuchadnezzar on his repentance, and by Daniel 
in behalf of his people before their restoration. 
It is also promised that such national worship shall 
take place in the times of the Gospel. Thus saith 
the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, 
to him ivhom man despiseth, to him whom the 
nation abhorreth, to a servant of riders, kings shall 
see and arise, princes also shall worship, because 
of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of 
Israel, and he shall choose thee, (Isa. xlix. 7.) 
It is promised yet more distinctly and fully, in 
times to come, All the kings of the earth shall 
praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of 
thy mouth. (Ps. cxxxviii. 4.) All kings shall 
fall down before him, all nations shall serve him. 
(Ps. lxxii. 11.) Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, 
and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall 
bow down to thee. (Isa. xlix. 23.) The sons of 
strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings 
shall minister unto thee. (Isa. lx. 10.) 

This duty is implied in the titles given to 
Christ. He is God over all, blessed for ever ; he is 
the Prince of the kings of the earth ; he is King of 
kings and Lord of lords. Reasonable is it, then, 
that the united worship of governments and nations 
should be rendered to him who has a name given 
him above every name ; that at the name of Jesus 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



249 



every knee should bow, and every tongue confess 
that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, 

This duty is also the dictate of natural con- 
science : to receive blessings without number, 
as a nation, and to return no public national united 
thankfulness, is a base ingratitude. 

Hence we find that ungodly rulers have justly 
and rightly been punished, and their kingdoms 
with them. Pharaoh disdainfully asked, Who is the 
Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? 
I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. 
Thus he hardened his heart ; and his people con- 
curring with him, this casting-on the Lord brought 
down upon his kingdom the destructive plagues of 
Egypt. So Belshazzar lifted up himself against 
the Lord of heaven, and he and his servants 
praised their idols. Daniel solemnly warned him 
of the common danger of falling kingdoms : The 
God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are 
all thy ways, hast thou not glorified. And in that 
night Belshazzar was slain, and his kingdom over- 
thrown. May we as a nation be warned by such 
examples of the danger of casting off God in our 
public measures. 

Great is the beauty and glory of the united 
worship of a nation. In the Old Testament we 
may often see this. Look at the inauguration 

M 3 



250 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

of Solomon by his father David. In that magnifi- 
cent assembly of all Israel, David blessed the Lord 
with the most glowing praises, and called all the 
congregation of Israel to bless the Lord, and 
they united together in worship and sacrifices. 
In the dedication of the temple by Solomon we 
behold a similar sublime and holy meeting and 
general worship of the nation, and God marking 
his approval of it by manifesting his glory in the 
midst of it. Similar national worship distinguished 
the reigns of other pious kings. Thus the ex- 
amples of faithful rulers illustrate and confirm the 
great duty of national worship. 

True it is, that there are now real difficulties in 
the way of general, harmonious, and united worship. 
But the only hindrances arise from sin, religious 
divisions, foul superstition, and hateful ungodliness, 
to be withstood and resisted by those to whom God 
has committed his authority, in wisdom and for- 
bearance, with firmness in necessary things, liberty 
in things not necessary, and charity in all things. 
However the evils may increase the difficulty, they 
never can reverse the duty. 

The Lord Jesus Christ, the great Monarch of 
all, with supreme wisdom and infinite power, is 
coming to take account of the stewardship that he 
has intrusted to each. Oh, how great the hate- 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



251 



fulness, How besotted the folly of indifference 
to the national worship of God, when placed in 
the light of his speedy coming, and his infallible 
judgment! 

2. Righteous Laws. 

This is a vast subject, in which we can but 
glance at some general principles. The law of 
God, as given in his Word, is the true fountain of 
political wisdom. It requires, indeed, that we 
should discern things that differ. We have to 
distinguish the circumstances peculiar to the 
early age of the world, and the political state of 
the Jews, from those great principles of moral and 
social duty, and that essential nature of social hap- 
piness, which are of universal force. With this 
modification, the direction given to Israel is equally 
applicable to us. Keep, therefore, and do them; 
for this is your tvisdom and your understanding 
in the sight of the nations, ivhich shall hear all these 
statutes, and shall say, Surely this great nation is a 
wise and understanding people.. For ivhat nation is 
there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as 
the Lord our God is in all things that tve call upon 
him for? (Deut. iv. 6, 7.) 

To neglect the law of God in human legislation 
is impiety, and to seek happiness in the contra- 
diction of its maxims, is folly and madness. There 



252 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

is, alas ! much of this impiety and folly in modern 
legislation, on all the great subjects of crime and com- 
merce, morality, and social interests and happiness. 

How little yet has the nation at large, or even 
the ministers of the "Word, risen to a due estimate 
of the value of the divine law, as a great guide in 
legislation. There is Divine wisdom in the maxims 
of righteous laws taught us in the Word of God. 
The punishment of murder was strictly required 
in the death of the murderer. No laws of human 
honour justifying duelling will plead in the bar of 
the Divine law at the coming judgment. There 
was to be a firm repression of crime between man 
and man, and of blasphemy against God. No 
pretence of constitutional liberty will justify our 
allowance of open blasphemy in that day. The 
sense of national union was based on the fear of 
God, and the religious education of the young. 
No differences of religious opinions will clear us of 
national guilt, if this be neglected. God gave 
many safeguards against oppression, and the un- 
bounded accumulation of property. His laws 
fostered simplicity in bodily and personal wants, 
and high and noble efforts for national holiness. 
They taught men to honour the rulers and judges 
placed over them, and to seek their happiness not 
in things without them, but in the inward state of 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



253 



tlieir own minds, and in the favour of God. Had 
such principles regulated our legislation in general, 
and imbued our country at large, Britain would 
have been, far more than it is, a holy nation, fearing 
God and working righteousness. 

But in contradiction to this, there is a relaxing 
of righteous laws on one hand, and, on the other, 
a spirit of lawlessness that endeavours to throw 
contempt on the authority of law, and the decisions 
of justice, by constituted authorities. True it is 
that we must obey God rather than man, whatever 
human authorities determine ; but we must not 
make our own rebellious will our idol ; we must 
not speak evil of dignities, nor be presumptuous 
and self-willed. We must yield neither to corrupt 
authorities on the one hand, nor to lawlessness on 
the other, but simply, entirely, and unreservedly, 
yield to the Lord our God and his revealed will. 
Contrast evils, in all ages, try the Church of God. 
Thus the primitive Church had as equally to 
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, as of that of 
the Sadducees. Another national duty is — 

3. The confession and diffusion of truth. 

Nebuchadnezzar, hi this very decree, says, / 
thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that 
the high God hath wrought to tear d me. How 
great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! 
his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his 



254 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

dominion is from generation to generation. I, 
Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol the King of 
heaven. This is the true and safe position of a faith- 
ful monarch before God. Every monarch restored 
to a sound state of mind in the sight of God, as 
Nebuchadnezzar was, will thus openly and faith- 
fully confess and diffuse the truth of God. 

This is the duty of every monarch, and of every 
government. It is a very superficial objection to 
say that their heathen governments must therefore 
propagate heathenism, and idolaters diffuse idolatry. 
The clear answer to this objection is, that it is the 
duty of rulers first to learn the truth. Here God 
has never left himself without witness, in the 
constant goodness of his Providence, to those 
really seeking after him. Having sought and 
attained the truth, their duty is then to promote it 
with all the influence of their station, and by all 
the means which the nature of that truth allows. 
In a country where the Word of God is open to all, 
truth is attainable to every faithful reader of that 
Word, or else the Gospel is a mockery and a dream. 
All men are responsible to God for using the 
means of attaining his truth ; and much more are 
rulers, and governors, and nations, acting in their 
national capacity, seeing that such vast conse- 
quences hang upon their due performance of this 
duty. Hence pious kings are commended for 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



255 



using their power and influence to promote religion. 
Pious Asa reforms abuses in religion. (2 Chron. 
xiv. 2 — i ; xv. 8.) Pious Jehoshaphat commands 
the priests and Levites to teach the law of the 
Lord; and the judges to reform abuses. (2 Chron. 
xvii. 7 — 9; xix. 4 — 11.) Pious Hezekiah takes 
counsel with the princes to celebrate the Passoyer 
(2 Chron. xxx. 2), and appoints the courses of 
the priests (2 Chron. xxxi. 2), and pious Josiah 
takes an oath of the people to keep the law 
(2 Kings xxiii. 2, 3) ; and these acts are their true 
glory, and are recorded in the Word for the in- 
struction and pattern of all monarchs to whom 
God has given the knowledge and the love of his 
truth. 

Thus responsible are governments for confessing 
before others, and diffusing that precious light of 
Divine truth, which they have received. It is a 
talent entrusted to them, and if they employ it not, 
they are like that evil servant who hid his talent 
in a napkin, and received so decided a condemna- 
tion from his Lord. Excuses may be multiplied 
before men, but no excuse against the performance 
of so clear a duty will avail in the presence of 
Christ. 

All this, at this time, is eminently true of the 
British nation, exalted in Christian privilege, 
wealth, and enlarged dominion, as it is above other 



256 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

nations. Its prominence in the eye of the world 
is peculiar, its means of knowledge abundant, its 
means of diffusing that knowledge are immense, 
and the preciousness of the souls which we may 
now benefit is infinite. 

Here again, then, we have brought before us 
our deep national guilt. Our worldliness, our am- 
bition, and our religious differences, are the great 
hindrance to this duty; and these things are our sin 
and our shame. Oh, that God may give us grace 
each duly to weigh, as in his sight, the severe 
account to be hereafter given for any share in this 
guilt; and, most of all, may it please the Lord to 
grant grace to legislators and governors in the 
State, and to rulers, ministers, and teachers in the 
Church, deeply to consider their personal respon- 
sibility for the national neglect of this duty. 

There are two great sources of the evil. On the 
one hand, heartless indifference to Divine truth, 
and, on the other hand, idolising of outward forms, 
and ceremonial or ecclesiastical distinctions. These 
sins are to be broken off by righteousness ; attaining 
through the Word and the Spirit of God a right state 
of mind and heart in his sight, and then doing that 
which He in his Word has called us to do ; in short, 
to believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, to confess him 
before men, and to keep his commandments, which 
are, supreme love to God, and unfeigned love to 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



257 



man. This is the righteousness to which He calls 
us. Nothing else will save us or our country from 
ruin. Love to the truth,, love to all who hold the 
truths united and national zeal for the promotion 
of the truths — these would be good and bright 
tokens of England's safety and prosperity. A 
nation which accounts proselytism to the truth as a 
sin. has apostatised from its duty and its highest 
glory. The salt has then lost its savour, and it is 
good for nothing in God's sight but to be cast out; 
and trodden under foot of men. 

EL NATIONAL DUTIES TOWARDS 
MEN. 

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was 
guilty of two evils. He was an ambitious con- 
queror, full of pride; and he was careless of the 
welfare of the poor. These two evils beset king- 
doms that have been successful in war, and have 
extended dominion, such as the leading kingdoms 
of Europe at this time. 

Two important national duties towards our 
fellow-men — the repression of warlike ambition, 
and mercy to the poor — are thus suggested. 

I. The repression of warlike ambi- 
tion. 

This is taught by the emblem of the wild beasts. 
It shews us one grand sin of the nations, and the 



258 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

character in which it is viewed by the Lord of all ; 
as a ravenous, untamed, destructive beast, bringing 
death and misery where it prevails. The history 
of the world is full of illustrations of these evils of 
warlike ambition.* 

What fruits of unspeakable misery, for instance, 
attended the progress of the wars of the French 
Revolution. What tremendous guilt was incurred 
by those who occasioned these wars. 

The true aim of government in any country 
should be to repress its inward evils, and promote 
self-denial, union, love, and holiness. Its object 
should be the subjugation of party, of oppression, 
of rebellion, and of crime ; while it is firm, united, 
and valiant against external enemies. 

Oh, my brethren, we have, as a nation, here 
much to learn. We are proud and vain- glorious ; 
we are lifted up with our victories, and our sub- 
jugated c untries, and our wide-spread dominions. 
Conquest is as dangerous as it is alluring. It 

* Well does Milton describe it — 

" To overcome in battle, and subdue 

Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite 
Manslaughter, shall be held tbe highest pitch 
Of human glory ; and for glory done 
Of triumph, to be styled great conquerors, 
Patrons of mankind, Gods, and sons of Gods, 
Destroyers, rightlier called, and plagues of men." 

— Boole xi. 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



259 



deceives even religious minds, under trie idea of 
the good that may be done in the countries to be 
subdued. We are not justified in doing evil that 
good may come. If we adopt this maxim, even 
under devout phraseology, our damnation is just. 
The whole principle of the Gospel, the very 
character of God himself, hi the dispensation under 
which we live, is, not to be overcome of evil, but to 
overcome evil with good. Let us as a Christian 
nation first duly occupy the field which the Lord 
has already given to us. Every step in conquest 
is an awful responsibility. Every death in an 
unjust war is murder in God's sight, as much as 
that which is perpetrated by an assassin. The 
chief guilt, indeed, in such wars is not upon the 
soldiers, but first on the Statesmen who prompt 
and determine on the aggressions, and nex£ on the 
people who applaud and approve the successful 
issue of them. 

Would that our own country were guiltless here. 
Amidst every palliation, and with every disposi- 
tion to view things in the best light, is there not 
the voice of our brothers' blood crying against us 
through our vast dominions ? No past cruelty and 
oppression is forgotten of God ; all the cruelties of 
the slave-trade and of slavery live in his sight. 
Africa, at this moment, in its chief kingdom, is 
agonized with that slavery and slave-trade which 



260 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

we in past days greatly and chiefly maintained.* 
Every unjustifiable war and conquest, with all its 
blood-shedding, is now before the eyes of the Lord, 
as at the very time in which they took place. Our 
extended colonies through the earth bear with 
them the still living record of each sin of ambition, 
covetousness, and oppression, defiling the nation 
in the way in which they were acquired. Fearful 
instances of the abuse of power in our dealings 
with foreign nations abound. The opium trade 
with China has been so conducted as to be a fearful 
national crime. Think of a dreadful war, in which 
it is said from 25,000 to 30,000 have perished! 
Think of our arms pioneering the way for an un- 
christian and most mercenary traffic, and to force 
poison on a heathen nation ! Our warlike ambition 
has now given security to the trade. It is not a 
moral, it is not a respectable, it is not in China a 
legitimate trade ; but it is a lucrative one ; and from 
two to three millions of profits annually are wrung 
by the East India Company from the tears and the 
blood of China. Where was there ever a moral 
question more clear than this ? And yet one noble- 
minded Christian has been deserted by almost all 
men, even those who make a profession of religion, 

* See East's " Western Africa," for many affecting proofs of 
this. See also the Rev. G. P. Hill's " Fifty days on board a 
Slave Vessel." 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



261 



as well as those who do not, and has had to contend 
in vain in his place in Parliament, to have this 
iniquitous traffic put down. An eye-witness of 
the trade writes to me, " None but those who have 
really witnessed its effects, as I have done for 
years, can know the misery, crime, disease, 
despair, and death, which follow in its train. The 
present state of this most abominable traffic is 
sowing 1 the seed of future wars. This mass of 
guilt which cleaves to our Christian name and 
country, must be removed by true repentance, and 
the united voice of religious men through our 
land must be raised against this flood of poison 
with which the cursed thirst for wealth is deso- 
lating unhappy China ; otherwise, the long-desired 
opening there will be only an opening for vice and 
cruelty, and disease, in its most appalling forms. 
Let us cleanse our hands from this foul stain. No 
man is exempt from this duty. It is the business 
of all. Our country's sin is our country's danger ; 
for what danger is more imminent than the in- 
curring of God's wrath, by iniquities committed 
for the sake of filthy lucre ?"* 

* My friend, the Rev. E. B. Squire, who has been in China, 
has at my request furnished me with the following statement 
on this subject : — 

" This national sin of the opium trade with China, which 
does not meet the eye so prominently as many others, because 
of the distance from which we are removed from the scene, is 



262 



RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 



Take another fact. The North American 
Indians, which occupied the different parts of 

not the less a source of incalculable misery and inconceivable 
wretchedness inflicted by our so-called Christian land upon a 
heathen people. It is a contraband trash : China rejects it 
altogether; and, therefore, even if it were not a deleterious 
drug, yet it would be attended with all the disgraceful and 
cruel scenes which ever accompany smuggling. But China 
has made ft death for her subjects to trade in it, and not un- 
frequently have Europeans seen the extreme penalty of the 
law enforced ; (three men's heads were exhibited at Macao, 
while I resided there, upon pikes; over this disgustiug spec- 
tacle was written the nature of their crime, dealing in opium 
with foreign barbarians ;) but it is a most pernicious and in- 
toxicating drug. I have witnessed at Singapore, where there 
is no concealment, and where any person may enter an opium 
shop, every grade of madness, and such scenes as find no 
parallel on earth Its use is attended with a world of moral 
and physical evil, prostration of body and of every energy . 
the intellectual powers of the mind are destroyed, and man 
becomes a willing slave to the worst species of intoxication; 
in short, pain, poverty, crime, disease, despair, and death, — 
all this is implied in the single word opium-smoking. And 
whence is this curse inflicted on this unhappy people, this 
pestilence which has raged and still rages with amazingly in- 
creasing virulence during the past thirty years? We reply, 
from India, from that land which God committed in his pro- 
vidence to our fostering care, that we might be a blessing to 
it, and that our influence for good might be extended to other 
lands of the East, and His kingdom and glory advanced. 
How are the mighty fallen! At this moment are the 
heathen cf our East Indian possessions engaged in preparing 
this flowing poison from their best lands, that it may, under 
the auspices of our Government, and countrymen, and fellow- 
subjects, inundate the mighty Empire of China, to the extent 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



263 



North. America, at the time of its first settlement 

by the Anglo-Americans, numbered more than 

fourteen millions; they have been reduced since 

that time, and undoubtedly in consequence of that 

settlement, to something less than two millions. 

Of these it is said, as they exist at present, " there 

may be 400,000 or 500,000 in their primitive 

state, and a million and a-half that may be said to 

be semi-civilized, and contending with the sophistry 

of white men, while they are swallowing their 

of from 35,000 to 40,000 chests per annum, from which, as it is 
a monoply, a gain of from £2,000,000 to £3,000,000 sterling 
is derived. It is the great obstacle to the introduction of the 
Gospel, as every missionary and right-thinking man has testi- 
fied ; it has been the cause of a war, in which it is said 
20,000 or 30,000 have perished, yet could such a w r ar, by its 
continuance, have put a stop to the opium trade, it would 
have been a mercy to China to have continued it, the misery 
of the former, tremendous as it was, among such a populous 
nation, being incomparably less than the latter. The amount 
in value of opium introduced into China and the Straits, in 
1837, was 4,800,000/., being 300,000/. more than the whole 
amount expended in travelling and conveyance of passengers 
and luggage upon the railroads of Great Britain last year, 
according to the returns made ; and if we take the strength 
of the male population of China at seventy-two millions, 
that is those between twenty and sixty years of age, who 
consume the drug, we can prove that if fifteen grains a-day — 
every day — are used by each individual, it will require 
7,200,000, or one in ten, to consume this quantity. If you 
enlarge the dose, then you oblige a larger individual consump- 
tion ; if you think it too large, then you extend the number 
of consumers." 



264 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

poisons, and yielding their lands and their lives 
to the superior tact and cunning of their merciless 
cajolers." Among these, all along the frontier, 
the conduct of those called Christians, has pre- 
sented the greatest hindrance to the progress of 
Christianity. There, by the introduction of 
ardent spirits, with every sort of fraud and abuse 
that could be engendered and visited upon them, 
and among their families, by ingenious money- 
making men, the most deadly and thwarting pre- 
judices have been occasioned. Thus, under a 
burning sense of injustice, they have withstood the 
introduction of Christianity, and everything which 
virtuous society has attempted to teach them.* 
English American Christians have to answer for 
all this depopulation, and for all this aversion to the 
Gospel. 

Oh, my brethren, we are a sinful nation, and a 
people laden with iniquity. We have been very 
guilty before God for our warlike ambition. A 
severe account will yet be exacted of all our 
national wrongs and iniquities, should we not 
break them off by righteousness. Let us often 
think of the holiness and meekness and humility 
of the great Judge, when he was on earth. He 
who refused with abhorrence the proffered empire 

* See Catlin's " North American Indians," vol. ii. 
pp. 238—244. 



NATIONAL DUTIES, 



265 



of Satan, at the cost of homage to that enemy of 
God and man. is coming to judge our unrighteous 
acquisitions of its kingdoms. He who withdrew 
when they sought by force to make Him king, will 
bring to his bar all the campaigns of proud ambi- 
tion. Many that are esteemed now highly among 
men. will undoubtedly be found abomination in 
his sight in that quickly coming day. 

Yet — for there are errors on all sides — let not 
any take up an unscriptural view of all wars. TTe 
do not, we dare not, assert, that all war is in itself 
sinful. We see by the Old Testament, we see by 
the Xew, that war will continue till the Lord of 
Glory returns, and establish, by the last war, his 
own peaceful and happy kingdom. We see that 
officers and soldiers are not commanded to leave 
their calling, but to glorify God in it; and we are 
distinctly told that the magistrate beareih not the 
sword in vain. Yet all war, on one side or the 
other, must be sinful ; and too many wars on both 
sides are altogether sinful. The final decision is at 
hand. May the Lord himself bring us as a nation 
to true repentance of our fondly cherished ambi- 
tion of military glory, and love of conquest and 
national aggrandizement. 

Our position as a civilized and powerful and 
military nation, bordering everywhere on unci- 
vilized, weak, and helpless nations, is a fearful 

N 



266 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

snare to us. We are not to be excused or deterred 
from a righteous and merciful course by the 
iniquities of other nations. It may appear satis- 
factory before a human tribunal, but before God it 
will not avail, for a Christian nation to say, that we 
cannot act upon abstract principles when we have 
to deal with barbarous or wicked people. The 
glory of Britain, possessing the Word of God, and 
professing to believe it to be from Him, should be 
that it is altogether upright, just and true, merciful, 
faithful, and kind in its national dealings. No 
doubt we must have discernment of things that 
differ, and be wise as serpents ; but still we ought 
to be unexceptionably blameless and harmless, 
without rebuke in the midst of crooked and perverse 
nations, shining as lights in the uiorld. To depart 
from our own faithfulness to treaties on grounds of 
mere worldly policy, to make moral integrity subject 
to any principles of expediency, is to dishonour 
the Gospel, and taint the national faith. Moral and 
Christian principle s in a Christian Government ought 
to preside over and govern, begin and end all our 
transactions. Alas ! far has this been from our course. 
It is true of us, as it was of Israel of old, when they 
entered unto the heathen whither they went, they 
profaned my holy name, tvhen they said to them, 
These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth 
out of his land, 0 Lord, turn thou us unto 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



267 



thee, and ice shall he turned; renew our days as 
of old. 

2. Mercy to the Poor. 

This duty to our fellow-men is specially insisted 
upon by Daniel, break off thy iniquities by showing 
mercy to the poor; and, indeed, a very large pro- 
portion of the precepts of the Word of God bear 
upon this duty. 

Oh, my brethren, what is our own situation 
before God ? Miserable offenders in his sight, 
through innumerable transgressions; we are under 
infinite obligation to the Divine mercy that spares, 
that pardons, that favours, and that blesses us. By 
this very mercy, so freely manifested to us in Christ 
Jesus, God calls us to this high standing and glory, 
to be, like himself, partakers of his own character, 
to be merciful as he is merciful, to delight in 
doing good, in compassion, in acts of grace and 
loving-kindness. But what has been our real 
conduct? 

Greatly have we, as a nation, sinned by our 
trading covetousness on the one hand, and by our 
ambition on the other. The spirit of commercial 
selfishness is, to treat men as machines; the spirit 
of military glory is, to adopt the sentiment of 
Buonaparte, and to regard them as food for the 
cannon. The spirit of true religion is to view them 
as immortal beings, whose life and welfare are 
n 2 



268 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

precious in the sight of God. Both the Law and 
the Gospel call ns to this. The weightier matters 
of the Laiv are judgment, mercy, and faith ; and 
the Gospel teaches us to put on, as the elect of 
God, holy and beloved, boivels of mercies and 
kindness, to shew mercy with cheerftdness, and to 
be mercifid, as our Father in heaven is merciful. 

It is the duty of the nation and of its Govern- 
ment to see that the poor are not neglected. 
Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, 0 
Princes of Lsrael: remove violence and spoil, and 
execute judgment and justice, take away your exac- 
tions from my people. (Ezek. xlv. 9.) The direc- 
tion given to kings is, Open thy mouth for the dumb, 
in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruc- 
tion. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and 
plead the cause of the poor and needy. (Prov. 
xxxi. 8, 9.) Magistrates are required of God to 
defend the poor and fatherless : and do justice to 
the afflicted and the needy. (Psalm lxxxii. 3.) 
Mercy and truth preserve the King, and his throne 
is upholden by mercy. (Prov. xx. 28.) It is 
dangerous to neglect this duty. Whoso stoppeth 
his ears at the cry of the poor, he will cry himself, 
and shall not be heard. (Prov. xxi. 13.) Peculiar 
blessings are also promised to those who attend 
to this duty. (Isa. lviii. 10, 11.) 

Seeing, then, it is so important a duty, let us 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



269 



more particularly notice iniquities that abound 
amongst us, contrary to this law of love. 

1. Oppressive Labour. The law of God here 
is explicit. Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, 
saying, Execute true judgment, and sheiv mercy 
and compassions every man to his brother: and 
oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the 
stranger, nor the poor ; and let none of you imagine 
evil against his brother in your heart. (Zech. vii. 
9, 10.) Execute judgment and justice, take aivay 
your exactions from my people, saith the Lord. 
(Ezek. xlv. 9 ) Woe unto him that buildeth his 
house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by 
wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without 
wages, and giveth him not for his work. (Jer. xxii. 
13.) He that oppress eth the poor to increase his 
riches, shall surely come to want. (Pro v. xxii. 16.) 
Rob not the poor, because he is poor : neither 
oppress the afflicted in the gate : for the Lord ivill 
plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that 
spoiled them. (Prov. xxii. 22, 23.) Undo the 
heavy burthens; let the oppressed go free ; break 
every yoke. Then shall thy light break forth as 
the morning. (Isa. lviii. 6, 8.) The exacting of 
oppressive labour from the Israelites, brought 
down all the destructive plagues upon the 
Egyptians. The children of Israel sighed by 
reason of their bondage, and their cry came up 



270 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

unto God by reason of the bondage. (Exod. ii. 
23.) The cause of God's judgments on Babylon 
of old was similar : Thou didst shew them no mercy ; 
upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy 
yoke. (Isa. xlvii. 6.) The transgressions of Israel 
were of a like character: In the days of your fast 
ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 
(Isa. Iviii. 3.) There is much of this sin in 
Britain, which it is in the power of a Christian 
Legislature to remedy. The ways in which the 
poor are stinted in their wages, in which young 
men and young women are worked in trades and 
shops, and children in the mines, and women and 
children in the factories and elsewhere, bring an 
awful amount of guilt on this sinful nation. 
Equally so does the establishment of systems of 
trade, which wring out of the muscles and sinews 
all that can possibly be gained, reckless of the 
sacrifice of the health and morals of those from 
whom it is gained ; or which prefer female labour 
because it may be had at a lower rate, though it 
be to the entire destruction of all family happiness. 
The low wages, also, of the agricultural poor 
reduce them to the greatest shifts and distresses 
in providing decent clothing, lodging, and neces- 
sary food for their families. The destitution of 
vast multitudes in this great metropolis is its 
reproach and its fearful danger. Oh haye we not 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



271 



reason to fear lest it be said of London, of 
Manchester, of Leeds, and of other large towns 
in our country, as it was of Jerusalem of old, This 
is the city to be visited. She is wholly oppression 
in the midst of her? (Jer. vi. 6.) * 

Defrauding the Poor oe their Hire. 

Very plainly the Lord speaks on this subject: 
Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob 
him : the wages of him that is hired shall not abide 
with thee all night until the morning. (Lev. xix. 
13.) What mean ye that ye beat my people to 
pieces, and grind the faces of the poor, saith the 
Lord of hosts ? (Isa. iii. 15.) Thou shalt not 
oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, 
whether he be, of thy brethren, or of the strangers 
that are in thy land within thy gates: at his day 
thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun 
go dozen upon it ; for he is poor, and setteth his 

* By an appeal from that excellent Institution the Hospital 
for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest (20, Great 
Marlborough-street and Brompton), it appears that upwards 
of 11,000 persons are constantly wasting away under the 
attacks of this lingering disease, and, it is added, " that many, 
very many, of these poor sufferers are the acknowledged 
victims of unventilated workshops, ill-constructed dwellings, 
vitiated atmosphere, long hours of work, and the want of 
open places for exercise and recreation, so that they may 
fairly claim from their richer brethren, not sympathy only, 
but compensation, for the injury which their neglect has 
inflicted on them." 



Til RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

heart upon it : lest he cry against thee unto the 

Lord, and it be .sin unto thee. (Deut. xxiv. 14, 

15.) God threatens lb another place, To come 
near unto judgment, and to be a swift witness 
against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, 
the widow, and, the fatherless^ and that turn aside 
the stranger from his right. (Mai. iii. 5.) He 
marks this as the sin of the last times, Ye have 
heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, 
the hire of the labourers who have reaped down 
your fields, which, is of yon, "kept bark by fraud, 

erieth : and the cries of them which have reaped 
are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 
(James v. 3, 4.) Innumerable arc the methods in 
the modern systems of vehement competition in 
trade, of injuring others and robbing the poor 
because they are unable to resist it. The truck 
system was an organized fraud on their wages. 
The systematic planning of such vile frauds 
specially incurs the Divine sentence, Woe unto 
/hem that decree wnriyhleous decrees, and that 

write grievousness which they have prescribed, ; to 
turn asdic, I he needy from judgment, and to lake 
away the right from the poor of my people. (Isa. 
x. 1,2.) How ought all men to look well unto 
their concerns with fear and trembling, lest there 
should be any such frauds upon the poor, seeing 
that there is nothing which more surely brings 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



273 



down the wrath, of Almighty God. It is an awful 
thing to become rich with the spoil of the poor. 
(Isa. hi. 14.) 

Xeglect of their Bodily Wants. 

How merciful is the law of God upon this 
subject. The poor shall never cease out of the land : 
therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open 
thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and 
to thy needy, in thy land. (Deut. xv. 11.) If thou 
at all take thy neighbour 's raiment to pledge, thou 
shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down ; 
for that is his covering only, it is his raiment for 
his skin ; wherein shall he sleep ? And it shall 
come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will 
hear, for I am gracious. (Exod. xxii. 26, 27.) No 
man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to 
pledge, for he taketh a marts life to pledge, (Deut. 
xxiv. 6.) Pure religion and undefiled before God 
and the Father is this : To visit the fatherless and 
widows in their affliction. If a brother or sister be 
naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you 
say unto them, Depart in peace, and be ye warmed 
and fdled ; notwithstanding, ye give them not those 
things ivhich are needful to the body, what doth it 
profit? (James i. 27 ; ii. 15, 16.) Such are the 
regulations of the Divine goodness ; but how con- 
trary to all this is the wretched and neglected 
situation of the poor ; disregarded, and uixvisited 

n 3 



274 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

and uncared for, as it regards real self-denial and 
self-sacrifice by their wealthy neighbours. 

We deny not the privileges of rank and station ; 
let none grudge those comforts and blessings of 
wealth which may lawfully be enjoyed, and that 
even to the benefit,, in a thousand ways, of the 
poor. Let none imagine that a voluntary poverty 
is a necessary Christian duty, or that the Gospel is 
a leveller of the distinctions of social life. Lawless 
liberty and equality are the cries of democracy, 
and the precursors of national ruin. But the con- 
stant streamings forth of Christian love are equally 
the duty, the safety, and the happiness of wealth. 
Oh, how beautiful, how full of blessings are the re- 
gulations of the GospeL / mean not, says the 
Apostle, to the rich Corinthians, that oilier men he 
eased and ye burdened; but by an equality, that 
now, at this time, your abundance may be a supply 
for their tcant, that their abundance also may be a 
supply for your ivant, that there maybe equality. 
As it is written, He that had gathered much had 
nothing over, and he that had gathered little had no 
lack. That the superabundance of one part of the 
Christian commonwealth is ever to be flowing to 
the deficiencies of another, and in the constant 
changes of providence, there is no part, however 
now in abundance, that will not, at some time, 
stand in need of the help of another part. This 



XATIOXAL DUTIES 



275 



beautiful law of Christian love is far too much dis- 
regarded. Are we not carelessly ignorant of the 
difficulties and distresses of the poor ? Are we not 
too self-indulgent ? 

It is awful to think of what the eye of the mer- 
ciful God beholds in the nearest vicinity. The 
wretched and destitute poor perishing in want in 
miserable and crowded garrets^ or rooms, or cellars, 
close by the most splendid squares and stately man- 
sions. He sees in the same neighbourhood splendid 
houses, furnished with every costly luxury, and 
hovels with the scantiest possible supplies of cloth- 
ing, bedding, or furniture, in narrow streets, and 
narrower courts and alleys, full of wretchedness 
and of wickedness, unventilated, unchained, filled 
with stagnant infection, spreading sickness and 
death. Families crowded together in small rooms, 
so that all decency and moral feelings are out- 
raged. Oh, my brethren, these things ought not 
to be so. May God raise amongst us, by the excess 
of the evil, a real zeal to shew mercy to the poor. 

Unconcern for their Spiritual Welfare. 

The whole spirit of our holy religion is to give 
us an earnest desire for the spiritual welfare of 
others, and to make this a primary duty. Thou 
shall not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shall 
in any icise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer 
sin upon him. (Lev. xix. 17.) He that winneth 



276 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

souls is ivise. (Prov. xi. 30.) Whoso hath this 
worlaVs good, and seeth his brother have need, and 
shidteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how 
dwelleth the love of God in him ? (1 John iii. 17.) 
We know, from our Saviour's example, that real 
compassion will chiefly regard the wants of the 
soul. To gather together these vast multitudes, 
that wealth may be accumulated by their labours, 
and to make no provision for their spiritual wants ; 
to witness with indifference their having no oppor- 
tunity for public worship, and no care for Sabbath 
blessings, or the Christian education of their 
children ; to make no provision for church-room, 
or for Christian schools, is a fearful national sin in 
the sight of God. Masters are bound to give unto 
their servants that which is just and equal, for 
their souls, as well as for their bodies. (Col. iv. 1.) 
If any provide not for his oion, — he hath denied 
the faith', and is worse than an infidel. (1 Tim. 
v. 8.) True Christians are, wherever situated, to 
be the salt of the earth, and the light of the ivorld. 
Is it, then, without national sin, that, in the midst 
of this most favoured metropolis of Christendom, 
and in our largest manufacturing towns and most 
populous districts, there are hundreds of thousands 
that have never heard the word of Christ, and 
with the present state of things around them, 
cannot hear it? Is it without national guilt that 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



277 



tliey never attend public worship, and, with the 
present inadequate places of worship, could not 
possibly be accommodated, if they did attend ? 

Denial of the Aids of Law against Pre- 
valent "Wrong. 

The very design of law and government is to 
correct what is wrong, and to protect the weak 
and helpless. It is a national sin that such mea- 
sures as were introduced by a Christian nobleman, 
who has gained the hearts of British Christians, 
ten years since, for the relief of children and of 
females, were refused and set aside.* 

* I cannot forbear giving some extracts, as given in the 
Standard, of Lord Ashley's thrilling speech on Friday, March 
15, 1844. May the facts deeply sink into the hearts of Chris- 
tians :— " Lord Ashley quoted the evidence of many of the 
inspectors of factories, which showed that the tendency of 
late legislation was to substitute more and more female labour 
and that of children for male labour. In one instance which 
had been reported to him, in 1831, one ruill employed seventy 
adults, with 104 spindles each, and 304 piecers. The same 
mill in 1841 employed only twenty-six adults, with 223 spindles 
to each, while the number of piecers was 123, certainly show- 
ing a decrease in the number of piecers, but then the number 
of spindles which they had to attend was greatly increased. 
The Noble Lord then cited evidence to the same effect, in 
regard to mills in various parts of the country, all showing the 
same result — viz., the diminution of adult males employed in 
factories, and the increase of labour in the case of females and 
children. The effect of all was such that many mill-owners 
who deplored the system, still were compelled to fall in with 
it, or consent to be driven from the employment of their capi- 



278 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 



To this moment, while grateful for every pro- 
gress towards what is right, we have to mourn 

tal by excessive competition. He could assure the House, 
that to his knowledge many most respectable mill-owners were 
in favour of a law which would restrict female and infant 
labour to ten hours per day. The Noble Lord then read the 
evidence of many surgeons, which proved that the excessive 
labour to which females were subjected in mills was most in- 
jurious to them in parturition — most unnatural and very pre- 
judicial to health ; that their infants at birth were much 
below the average size, and in a score of children they could 
point out all those whose maternal parent had been a factory 
worker. The children were in most cases, shortly after birth, 
given into the care of others, while the mothers went to the 
factory, and the evidence proved that the consumption of 
Godfrey's cordial, and other poisonous drugs, for the purpose 
of quieting the children, greatly exceeded the belief of any 
one not acquainted with the facts. The mothers being de- 
prived of their children while nature was at work, their milk 
became too abundant and therefore bad — internal disorders 
were the consequence, the usual remedy for which was gin. 
Ulcerated legs, arising from varicose veins, was the natural 
result of such long-standing at work, and the attempts to pro- 
cure abortion, even among married women, were frightfully 
frequent. In addition to the evidence of the surgeons, he 
had had the personal testimony of many women who were 
employed in factories fully confirming all the facts. Many of 
the married women stated with shame that they were wholly 
ignorant of any domestic duties ; that they were compelled to 
be dirty, untidy ; could not cook, take care of their children, 
or in fact, do anything for themselves or the comfort of their 
husbands; in fact, both married and single affirmed that leav- 
ing home at five o'clock in the morning, and not returning 
until eight in the evening—sometimes much later, they in 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



279 



that adequate measures to restrain and correct the 
evils have not been provided. God Almighty,, in 

fact knew nothing but 'mil! and bed.' The Xoble Lord then 
quoted Dr. John's and other authority, to show that the system 
tended much to debase the morals of the factory population, 
and that the long hours they were compelled to work was the 
great cause of the inebriety which existed among them. He 
had letters from Stockport and Manchester, from surgeons 
there, telling him of the various mischievous consequences 
arising to modest women, employed in factories, from not 
being able to avail themselves of those opportunities which 
every man could understand without his stating them. 
Doubtless, in many mills which were well regulated, those 
inconveniences did not exist, but the vast majority of them 
were so ill-managed as not to entitle them to exemption from 
this charge. He had a letter from Mr. Rayner, a medical 
officer of Stockport, saying, c It has been the practice in mills 
gradually to dispense with the labour of males, but particu- 
larly grown-up men, so that the burden of maintaining the 
family has rested almost exclusively on the wife and children, 
while the men have had to stay at home and look after house- 
hold affairs, or ramble about the streets unemployed.' 
Females now not only occupied the places of the men, but 
adopted those various associations, amusements, and privi- 
leges which were considered exclusively suited to men. They 
had now associations called female clubs, of which he had this 
description from an eye-witness : — ' Fifty or sixty females, 
married and single, form themselves into clubs, ostensibly for 
protection, but in fact they meet to drink, sing, and smoke ; 
they use, it is stated, the lowest, most brutal, and most dis- 
gusting language imaginable.' Here was a dialogue in one 
of them, from an ear-witness: — e A man came into one of 
these club-rooms with a child in his arms : " Come, lass," said 
he, addressing one of the women, " come home, for I cannot 



280 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

his tender mercy to suffering thousands, graciously 
disposes those in power, to aid in this. These 

keep this bairn quiet, and the other I have left crying at 
home." " I won't go home, idle devil," she replied, "I have 
thee to keep and the bairns too, and if I can't get a pint of 
ale quietly, it is tiresome ; this is only the second pint that 
Bess and me have had between us ; thou may sup if thou 
likes, and sit thee down, but I won't go home yet." ' See 
how effectually women occupied the place of men. By im- 
posing on women the duty and privilege of supporting their 
husbands and families, you introduced disorder, insubordina- 
tion, and violence of every description. What was the ground 
on which the women did not acknowledge the respect and 
obedience that were due to their husbands? Because the duty 
of providing for them no longer devolved on their husbands. 
The same thing took place with respect to children. The in- 
subordination of children towards their parents was most 
frightful in the manufacturing districts ; children taking the 
same advantage of parents that women did of their husbands, 
frequently using oaths and harsh language, and if corrected 
turning round and saying, with an oath, ' We have you to 
keep. You have no right to interfere. Without our labour and 
assistance you would not live.' And this was said by children 
under thirteen or fourteen years of age. One poor woman 
stated that her husband had chided two of their daughters for 
going to a public-house ; he made it worse, for they would 
not come home again, stating ' they had their father to keep, 
and they would not be dictated to by him.' Then eight out 
of ten of the prostitutes in many localities were factory girls, 
discharged from the mills. The females in those districts ex- 
hibited a ferocity of character quite unsuited to their sex. 
Recollect what females did in the outbreak of 1842. This 
was the statement made by a mother of children working in 
a factory : — ' She told me that all the churches and chapels 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



281 



are not party questions. They are great and grave 
subjects of national interest and righteousness, 

were useless places, and so was all the talk about education, 
since the young and old were unable to attend either in con- 
sequence of the former being imprisoned in the mills so many 
hours, and being in want of rest the little time they are at 
home, and the latter being compelled to live out of the small 
earnings of their children, and cannot get clothing, so they 
never think of going to churches or chapels.' She added, 
1 when you get up to London, tell them we'll turn out the next 
time (meaning the women), and let the soldiers fire on us if 
they dare ; and depend upon it, there will be a break out, and 
a right one, if that House of Commons don't alter things, for 
they can alter if they will, by taking mothers and daughters 
out of the factories, and send the men and big lads in.' What 
was the opinion of Sir Charles Shaw, the Superintendent of the 
Police of Manchester, as to the influence of factory labour on 
the condition of the female sex. 'A woman,' said Sir Charles 
Shaw, ' by being employed in a factory, loses the station 
ordained her by Providence, and becomes similar to the 
female followers of an army, wearing the garb of women, but 
actuated by the worst passions of men. The women are the 
leaders and exciters of the young men to violence in every 
riot and outbreak in the manufacturing districts, and the 
language they indulge in is of a horrid description; while they 
are themselves demoralized, and contaminate all that comes 
within their reach.' Let me remind, too, the House, of the 
mighty change that has taken place among the opponents to 
this question — when I first brought it forward in 1833, I could 
scarcely number a dozen masters on my side, I now count 
them by hundreds — we have had, from the West Riding of 
Yorkshire, a petition signed by 300 mill-owners, praying for 
a limitation of labour to ten hours in the day. Some of the 
best names in Lancashire openly support me. I have letters 



282 



HIGHTE0USNES3 AND MERCY, 



and of moral and religious obligation ; and till the 
Law speaks clearly and fully on such subjects of 

from others who secretly wish me well, but hesitate to pro- 
claim their adherence ; and even among the members of the 
Anti-Corn-Law League, I may boast of many firm and effi- 
cient friends. Sir, under all aspects in which it can be 
viewed, this system of things must be abrogated or restrained 
— it affects the internal tranquillity of those vast provinces, 
and all relations between employer and employed — it forms a 
perpetual grievance, and ever comes uppermost among their 
complaints in all times of difficulty and discontent. It dis- 
turbs the order of nature, and the rights of labouring men, by 
ejecting the males from the workshop, and filling their places 
by females, who are thus withdrawn from all their domestic 
duties, and exposed to insufferable toil at half the wages that 
would be assigned to males for the support of their families. 
It affects — nay more, it absolutely annihilates, all the arrange- 
ments and provisions of domestic economy — thrift and 
management are altogether impossible ; had they twice the 
amount of their present wages, they would be but slightly 
benefited. Every thing runs to waste ; the house and children 
are deserted ; the wife can do nothing for her husband and 
family ; she can neither cook, wash, repair clothes, or take 
charge of the infants ; all must be paid for out of her scanty 
earnings, and, after all, most imperfectly done. Dirt, discom- 
fort, ignorance, recklessness, are the portion of such house- 
holds ; the wife has no time for learning in her youth, and 
none for practice in her riper age; the females are most 
unequal to the duties of the men in the factories, and all 
things go to rack and ruin, because the men can discharge at 
home no one of the especial duties that Providence has 
assigned to the females. Why need I detain the House by a 
specification of these injurious results? They will find them 
stated at full length in the Second Report of the Children's 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



283 



mercy and righteousness, the guilt of their rejec- 
tion rests upon the country, and the duty of us in 

Employment Commission. Consider it, Sir, under its physi- 
cal aspect. Will the House turn a deaf ear to the complaints 
of suffering that resound from all quarters ? Will it be indif- 
ferent to the physical consequences on the rising generation ? 
You have the authority of the Government Commissioner, Dr. 
Hawkins, a gentleman well skilled in medical statistics — 1 I 
have never been,' he tells you, ' in any town in Great Britain 
or in Europe, in which degeneracy of form and colour from 
the national standard has been so obvious' as in Manches- 
ter. I have, moreover, the authority of one of my most 
ardent antagonists, himself a mighty mill-owner, that, if 
the present system of labour be persevered in, the 6 county 
of Lancaster will become a province of pigmies.' The 
toil of the females has hitherto been considered the cha- 
racteristic of savage life ; but we, in the height of our 
refinement, impose on the wives and daughters of Eng- 
land a burden from which, at least during pregnancy, 
they would be exempted even in slave-holding states, and 
among the Indians of America. But every consideration 
sinks to nothing compared with that which springs from the 
contemplation of the moral mischiefs this system engenders 
and sustains. You are poisoning the very sources of order 
and happiness and virtue ; you are tearing up, root and 
branch, all the relations of families to each other; you are 
annulling, as it were, the institution of domestic life, decreed 
by Providence himself, the wisest and kindest of earthly ordi- 
nances, the mainstay of social peace and virtue, and therein 
of national security. There is a time to be born, and a time 
to die — this we readily concede ; but is there not also a time 
to live, to live to every conjugal and parental duty? This we 
seem as stiffly to deny ; and yet in the same breath we talk of 
the value of education, and the necessity of moral and reli- 



284 



RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 



the ministry is to speak openly and boldly con- 
cerning them. 

The situation of the poorer classes is one of deep 
national importance, and specially requiring the 
aid of wise, righteous, and merciful laws. It is 
not to be denied that from a variety of causes, 
from their own corruption, from religious and 
moral neglect on the part of others, from low 
wages, utterly inadequate in numberless cases to 

gious training. Sir, it is all in vain ; there is no national, no 
private system that can supersede the influence of the parental 
precept and parental example — they are ordained to exercise 
an unlimited power over the years of childhood; and, amidst 
all their imperfections, are accompanied with a blessing. 
Whose experience is so confined that it does not extend to a 
knowledge and an appreciation of the maternal influence over 
every grade and department of society? It matters not 
whether it be prince or peasant, all that is best, all that is 
lasting in the character of a man, he has learned at his 
mother's knees. Search the records, examine the opening 
years of those who have been distinguished for ability and 
virtue, and you will ascribe, with few exceptions, the early 
culture of their minds, and, above all, the first discipline of 
the heart, to the intelligence and affection of the mother, or at 
least of some pious woman who, with the self-denial and ten- 
derness of her sex, has entered as a substitute, on the duties 
of the sacred office. No, Sir, these sources of mischief must 
be dried up ; every public consideration demands such an 
issue ; the health of the females ; the care of their families ; 
their conjugal and parental duties; the comfort of their 
homes ; the decency of their lives ; the rights of their hus- 
bands ; the peace of society: and the laws of God." 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



285 



meet their actual necessities, from want of em- 
ployment even at those low wages,, and from 
miserable accommodation in their dwellings, large 
masses of the poor are becoming more and more 
degraded and immoral, and the higher and lower 
classes are more and more separated from each 
other. Such a state of things is full of national 
dangers as well as contrary to the Word of God. 
The difficulty of legislation for the poor is acknow- 
ledged and felt by all ; and a remedy for present 
evils is a subject worthy of the deepest wisdom 
and highest intellect of our country. The recent 
efforts that have been made have had but partial 
success ; the loss of local knowledge, ministerial 
superintendence, and personal interest and sym- 
pathy in the parish system, has not been fully 
compensated by the benefits of union and cen- 
tralization. Very much must depend on the 
administration in each case, but it is to be feared 
that the sufferings of the poor and the consequent 
bitterness of their spirits against their superiors are 
not diminishing, but increasing. 

Oh ! that the same powers of intellect which 
have been so largely directed to improving our 
machinery and our facilities of intercourse, to 
advancing our commerce, to enable us to compete 
with others in trade, and in every way to increase 
wealth, had also been directed to the best methods 



286 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

of shewing mercy to the poor, and improving their 
religious and moral character, to shewing real 
sympathy with their wants, discouraging indolence, 
improvidence, and vice, opening channels for 
willing industry, fostering plans and habits of 
economy, forethought^ and providence, and ad- 
vancing their spiritual and eternal, as well as their 
temporal welfare ! Had this been done, the 
British Islands would have been yet a large 
blessing to mankind, and infinitely fuller of home 
happiness. Nothing but the principles of the 
Bible, carried out in the spirit of our Divine 
Redeemer, in all our dealings with the poor, can 
meet their necessities or ensure our own safety. 
God's Providence ever corresponds with his Word, 
and all legislation not founded on that Word, will 
fail of attaining that success at which it aims. 

The Abuses of Wealth and Power. 

The very characters of the age are the growth 
of luxury and covetousness. We witness a con- 
stant accumulating of property notwithstanding 
the miseries abounding all around us. Ye have 
heaped treasure together for the last days. Ye have 
lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton. Ye 
have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 
It is our bounden duty in the ministry to lift up 
our voices against these sins. It is God's own 
command to us, Cry aloud, spare not; lift up thy 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



287 



voice like a trumpet, show my people their trans- 
gressions, and the house of Jacob their sins. (Isa. 
Iviii. 1.) With, many delightful and blessed ex- 
ceptions, of which the recently formed District 
Visiting Society, under the patronage of the Bishop 
of London, has furnished gratifying proofs, large 
masses of the rich and the great, the noble and the 
mighty, are so widely separated from the poor as 
to have no communion with their distresses, and 
no fellowship with their necessities. "While we 
admit that those in exalted situations require large 
establishments according to the wealth with which 
God has intrusted them, yet there is great danger 
that the circumstances of their condition should 
harden their hearts to the distresses of the poor. 
This, we fear, must be the case where the mind is 
filled with thought and care for splendid equipages, 
magnificent houses, rich furnitui*e, adapted to meet 
the most luxurious ease, costly pictures, the most 
dainty diet, and the most beautiful ornaments ; 
while many a poor and afflicted man at the very 
gates is lying full of sores, naked and in misery, 
no man caring for his soul. Oh, it is most fearful 
to think that there are instances in which the 
luxuries are actually gained by stinting the wages 
of the poor, and by driving hard bargains with 
eager or needy tradesmen, or by some skilful 
advantage over the ignorance or the necessities of 



288 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

those with whom they have had dealings. God 
give us all a spirit of watchfulness against these 
temptations, and of real consideration for the ease 
and necessities of those under us. 

Blind Flattery instead or Righteous Love. 

This in times of confusion, like the present, 
is another characteristic of the same national 
sin. Those who are successful and acquire 
wealth are fawned upon and flattered, instead of 
being faithfully and affectionately dealt with, and 
warned of their peculiar temptations and dangers. 
We call the proud happy ; yea, they that work 
wickedness are set up. We find in the 12th Psalm, 
that at the very time when God says, For the 
oppression of the poor , for the sighing of the needy, 
now will I arise, saith the Lord ; he describes 
their oppressors, saying, They speak vanity every 
one toith his neighbour, tvith flattering lips, and 
ivith a double heart do they speak. 

We have indeed, my brethren, to bless God for 
many manifestations of Divine grace, in the noble 
liberality of devoted and faithful servants of Christ. 
Let this be acknowledged with joy and thankful- 
ness. But perhaps in few countries have the eager 
pursuit of wealth, the ardent spirit of competition 
for it, and the reckless inconsideration of those 
injured by it, produced more oppression of the 
poor, and greater degradation and misery. Truly 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



289 



wealth wrought out of the sinews of the poor, with 
careless indifference at what cost it may be to their 
bodily wants, and to the total neglect of their 
immortal souls, wealth so acquired is nothing but 
a curse. And the most aggravated guilt of all, is 
when this is joined with a religious profession. 
Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, 
for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence 
make long prayers ; therefore ye shall receive the 
greater damnation. Woe unto you, ye make clean 
the outside of the cup and the platter, hat within 
they are full of extortion and excess. 

Let us for a moment turn from all these iniquities 
to that perfect contrast, the meek, the compas- 
sionate, the holy, the pure, the loving Saviour, and 
refresh ourselves with his grace and goodness. Ye 
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
though he toas rich, for our sakes he became poor, 
that toe through his poverty might be rich. He is 
Lord of all, and yet he became servant of all. 
Heaven and earth were at his command ; Divine 
perfections and glory were his ; yet he emptied 
himself and became obedient unto death, even the 
death of the cross, that we might be delivered from 
all woe, and raised to partake of his bliss and his 
glory: we who were enemies; vile, ungrateful, 
sinful rebels. He showed us the way of dealing 
with such ; that way of overcoming evil with good 



290 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

which is truly Divine and heavenly. And so he 
conquered rny heart. And so, Christians, he has 
conquered yours, and we will by truth and over- 
flowing love seek to overcome others on this 
Gospel plan. Thus shall innumerable souls be 
saved and accepted, and we ourselves welcomed in 
the day of his appearing. 

III. THE MOTIVE TO THESE DUTIES 
IN THE PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S 
COMING. 

I need not now dwell on the certainty and the 
nearness of the Lord's coming. I trust that your 
hearts are established in it. That it is not a mere 
careless repetition of words when you say, We 
believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge ; and 
when you say in the creed, He sitteth on the right 
hand of God the Father Almighty ; from thence he 
shall come to judge the quick and the dead. We 
doubt not of the fact at all. We are expecting it, 
we are waiting for it ; we are earnestly desiring to 
be ready and prepared for it. Lord, tee believe j 
help thou our unbelief. Oh, may we live more and 
more in the light of this coming judgment, and 
accustom ourselves to view everything with con- 
stant reference to it. The bringing near of the 
final judgment, and the realizing of the wrath 
then to descend on the wicked, and the promised 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



291 



glory then to be bestowed on tlie righteous, are 
fall of weighty influence on all our duties. The 
solemnities and infinite magnitude of the judg- 
ment, its irreversible issue, and its eternal deci- 
sion of our future state, as inhabitants of hell or of 
heaven, and the assurance that the Judge now 
standeth at the door, cannot fail to quicken every 
one who receives God's testimony in simple faith. 

The speedy coming and kingdom of our Lord 
Jesus Christ speak powerfully in various ways. 

1. Fresh light is afforded to the con- 
science. 

Let us but set the light of that day before us, 
and how many delusions it will banish. How 
vain the pleas for national Atheism when the King 
of nations returns to judgment ! How wicked 
will national indifference to the word of God be 
seen to be, when he who in tender mercy gave us 
as a nation that light from heaven, gathers us 
among all nations to give account, according to 
that word, of all our privileges and advantages, of 
the way we received them, and of the use which 
we made of them. How dreadfully infatuated 
will be found to be the neglect of the poor, when 
the Judge before whom all stand shall account it 
as neglect of himself according to his own fore- 
warning; and the rich and the poor meet together 
before the judgment-seat, and the Lord the Maker 

o 2 



292 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

of tliem all , gives sentence upon both without 
respect of persons. Place all things in the presence 
of the judgment to come. Thus a new light will 
be thrown on our duties, as we think of rulers 
and subjects, lawgivers and judges, princes and 
people, all standing together before the one great 
Judge and rendering account to him of all they 
have done. All policy short of a reference to this 
is the policy of short-sightedness and folly. This 
alone will lead to what is truly disinterested, 
noble, generous, upright, wise, and enduring. 
God give us as individuals, and as a nation, this 
character and this glory. 

A POWERFUL APPEAL IS THUS MADE TO OUR 

fear. The descriptions in God's Word as to the 
judgments that shall then descend on the wicked 
are some of the most awful and awakening parts of 
Scripture. Terrible is the doom pronounced on 
rebellious and ungodly nations. A large part of 
Scripture records it. I will quote a passage from 
the Old, and another from the New Testament. 
God thus speaks by Isaiah xxxiv. 1, Come near, ye 
nations, to hear ; and hearken, ye people : let the 
earth hear, and all that is therein : the tvorld, and 
all things that come forth of it. For the indigna- 
tion of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury 
upon all their armies : he hath utterly destroyed 
them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



293 



Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink 
shall come up out of their carcasses, and the moun- 
tains shall be melted with their blood. And all the 
host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens 
shall be rolled together as a scroll. God also thus 
speaks by the Apostle John, in the Xew Testa- 
ment : i" saw heaven opened, and behold a white 
horse ; and he that sat upon him teas called faith- 
ful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge 
and make war. His eyes were as a fiame of fire, 
and on his head were many crowns, and he had a 
name written that no man knew but he himself. 
And he teas clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, 
and his name is called the Word of God. And 
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon 
white horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean. 
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that 
with it he should smite the nations ; and he shall 
rule them with a rod of iron ; and he treadeili the 
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty 
God. We have, then, an account of the fearful 
supper of the great God for all the fowls of heaven. 
God has revealed in his word these tremendous 
scenes of judgment on the wicked at the return of 
our Lord from heaven. The wicked, by a hard 
and impenitent heart, treasure up to themselves 
wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of 
the righteous judgment of God. Oh, that this 



294 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 

revelation of coming wrath, may fill our hearts 
with godly fear ; may lead us all to flee from the 
ivrath to come, and to bring forth fruits meet for 
repentance by pursuing the conduct which Daniel 
has here pointed out. 

The preciousness of time becomes manifest 
as we realize the coining and the kingdom of 
Christ. As it was in the case of Nineveh, when 
Jonah preached, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall 
he destroyed; so it is now; there is but a very 
short season of grace left. There is a pressing 
need to urge upon our country the duty of national 
repentance, that if possible God's judgments may 
be averted from our country. There is urgent 
need that all should be exhorted to press into the 
kingdom of heaven, lest they finally be found 
among those who seek to enter in and shall not be 
able. The time is at hand. Prophetical dates, 
given us in the Word of God for our instruction, 
are closing. We dare not, indeed, fix precise 
times. I would caution you against any positive 
statements fixing the period of our Lord's return ; 
but a waiting, watching spirit is ever to be culti- 
vated. The gathering clouds in increasing black- 
ness are suspended over us. Oh, my brethren, let 
us at last turn to the Lord our God, for he is 
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great 
kindness. Who hioweth if he will return and 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



295 



leave a blessing behind him ? Oh, how precious is 
the present time ! What wordd tliose who neglect 
this season give for the present hours hereafter ! 
And if it be impossible to save our country from 
Divine judgment s, yet, by protesting against evil 
and promoting the truth with all our power, we 
shall unquestionably help to save many, as well as 
to deliver our own souls. 

The blessed prospect op the kingdom of 
Christ may well finally animate us to these duties. 
We have riches, honour, and life before us, in- 
finitely surpassing all that this world can boast of. 
We have a lively hope of an inheritance incor- 
ruptible and undefiledy and that fadeih not away 9 
reserved in heaven for us. Hope is the quickener 
of zeal. Whatever maybe the result of our efforts, 
whatever our success, or want of it, in seeking the 
best welfare of our own land, however we may 
weep over it, if our efforts for its good meet with 
nothing but disappointment and reproach and 
injury, to the true servant of Christ final success is 
sure. We have a house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. We look for a city which has 
foundations, tvhose builder and maker is God. We 
seek and desire a better country, that is an heavenly. 
Our King shall reign in righteousness, and his 
princes shall rule in judgment. The people of God 
shall more than realize then best wishes. They shall 



.296 



RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 



witness the nations of the saved, walking in holy 
worship and mutual love. Nay, they themselves 
shall be kings and priests unto God, and shall reign 
over the earth. They themselves shall inherit the 
nations, and delight themselves in the abundance 
of peace. Oh ! may our God shortly accomplish 
the number of his elect, and hasten his kingdom. 

I would now close my important subject with 
two practical directions. 1. Watch against and 

TESTIFY AGAINST THE PECULIAR EVILS OF THESE 

days. Those evils are indeed multiplying and 
opposite ; there is Infidelity and there is Popery ; 
there are corrupt authorities and there is demo- 
cratic lawlessness ; there is Tractarianism and there 
is Voluntaryism ; but in more immediate connexion 
with my subject, I would bring before you that 
overvaluing of wealth, and making haste to be rich, 
which is the source of such a multitude of evils. 
He that maheih haste to he rich shall not be inno- 
cent. (Prov. xxviii. 20.) They that will be rich 
fall into temptation and a snare, and into many 
foolish and hurtful lusts, tohich drown men in 
destruction and perdition. For the love of money 
is the root of all evil, which tvhile some coveted 
after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced 
themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, 
0 man of God, flee these things. (1 Tim. vi. 
9—11.) Let none of us seek great things for 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



297 



ourselves here below. Oh ! what are all those 
earthly distinctions which, men so overvalue ? 
They are so afraid of sinking into a lower caste in 
society ^ and of losing their particular station, that 
they lose sight of infinitely higher distinctions and 
privileges than any which this world can give, and 
which are open to us all in the favour and love of 
God. Hence they become exposed to temptations 
on every side, and are in danger of making light 
of mercy and truth and righteousness in their 
dealings with others. Let no temptations, for 
instance, of cheapness in purchase ever tempt you 
knowingly to frequent those places where cheap- 
ness is attained by systems of fraud or injustice. 
Be especially on your watch against anything that 
bears hard on the weak and the needy. Mind not 
high things. Condescend to men of low estate. 
One great rule regarding all earthly objects is 
peculiarly seasonable now. Let your moderation 
he known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be 
careful for nothing. Commit everything to him. 
And as it regards others, let us be full of compas- 
sion and love ; saving men with fear, pulling them 
out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted icith 
the flesh. Let us distinctly discern that open evils, 
unrepressecl and not testified against, are the chief 
sources of national danger to our country ; and let 
true patriotism, as well as true Christianity, lead 
o 3 



298 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, 



us all distinctly to confess the truth, and bear 
witness against that which is evil. Let us testify 
against it wherever it exhibits itself, and more 
especially in our own Church and our own imme- 
diate circle ; but all in the spirit of contrition and 
sympathy, as ourselves also full of sin ; all hi the 
spirit of tender, holy, and faithful love. If ye 
suffer for righteousness* sake, happy are ye. The 
blessings of this course will be unspeakable. 
Possibly it may not save our country. Josiah's 
piety did not save Israel from the captivity ; the 
piety of the primitive Church did not deliver the 
Jewish nation from the Romans. But, even in 
this respect, icho knoiceth ? The result is with 
God. Your personal salvation, the increase of the 
saved, their preparation for tribulation and the 
coming glory, and a testimony left which may 
hereafter be a blessing to a world that now rejects 
it ; these blessed effects furnish the rich recom- 
pense of real faithfulness to Christ. 

Maintain a waiting spirit eor the coming 
and kingdom of our lord and saviour. 

This is the crowning grace of a Christian, Ye 
come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. This duty is constantly 
insisted upon in the New Testament in passages 
innumerable, that are, I trust, now familiar to your 
minds. But still search the Scriptures; keep before 



NATIONAL DUTIES. 



299 



you thus in lively recollection their invariable tes- 
timony to the nearness, the suddenness, the magni- 
tude, and the eternal issues of his return. In the 
last book of Scripture, the last of the Apostles, the 
divine John, claims this as the common token of 
brotherhood among Christians. I } John, who also 
am your brother and companion in tribulation, and 
in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. It is 
this patient waiting for the kingdom, which is the 
present feature and character of our great Head 
and Lord in the highest heavens, and will be so till 
the countless prayers of the myriads of his people, 
Thy kingdom come, offered in every age, are all 
answered, and the last trumpet sounds, and the 
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and his Christ. The same patient waiting 
must mark and distinguish us his followers. This 
will support us amidst multiplied conflicts, and 
troubles on every side. This will quicken and 
strengthen us to all self-denying labours of 
love. This will assist us to maintain meekness 
and patience under every wrong. Be ye also 
patient ; stablish your hearts, for the coming of 
the Lord draweth nigh. Murmur not one against 
another, lest ye be condemned. Behold the Judge 
standeth before the door. I desire to preach, I 
desire to live^ in the realizing conviction of the 
truth and magnitude of these blessed truths. 



300 RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY, &C. 

God help us all to belieye them, to confess them, 
and act upon them. 

I bless God that I have lived to see so many of 
my beloved brethren in our Church confess these 
truths with such simplicity and faithfulness. The 
Lord grant a full blessing to our testimony in this 
metropolis of the whole earth. And the Lord 
grant that our dear brother who has opened his 
church to us, and invited us here to give this testi- 
mony, may find a large and gracious revival of true 
religion in his own flock and his own parish through 
these Lectures. God, our Saviour, grant that we 
may all in the day of his appearing, have to thank 
for ever, Him from whom alone all good things 
come, for these united labours of love, and these 
opportunities of testifying and of hearing his truth. 



LECTURE XI. 



THE LONG EXPECTATION OF THE COMING OF 
THE LORD, A PLEDGE OF ITS SURPASSING 
GLORY. 



BY THE REV. B. PHILPOT, A.M., 

RECTOR OF GREAT CRESSINGHAM, FORMERLY ARCHDEACON OF THE ISLE OF MAN, 



Romans VIII. 18—23. 

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present 
time are not worthy to he compared with the glory 
which shall he repealed in v.s. For the earnest 
expectation of the creature waiteth for the mani- 
festation of the sons of God. For the creature 
teas made subject to vanity, not willingly, hut hy 
reason of him who hath subjected the same in 
hope ; because the creature itself also shall be 
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the 
glorious liberty of the children of God. For we 
know that the whole creation groaneth and tra- 
vaileth in pain together until now. And not only 
they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits 



302 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



of the Spirit, even toe ourselves groan tcithin 
ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the 
redemption of our body." 

Thousands of way-worn pilgrims have got re- 
freshment at this fountain. Coming, as I do, from 
a scene of long- endured affliction, I seem to be 
charged with the testimony of a Christian sufferer, 
that, in the fiercest onset of disease, faith in the 
precious promise of the glory ivhich shall be revealed 
at the coming of the Lord, is equal to the exigency. 
Happily for the believer this present evil world 
is the land of the dying. The rebel was expelled 
from Eden ere he could take of the tree of life, 
and fix the whole family of man in the bondage of 
perpetual corruption. This vile flesh and blood 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God. But if we be 
Christ's we shall be clothed upon with our house 
which is from heaven, a sinless and incorruptible 
body. Verily, said one, whose standing was on 
the Rock of Ages, xerily I had fainted unless I had 
believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land 
of the living. The eye of faith beheld a land 
wrenched from the grasp of death, and given to the 
people of the saints of the Most High for an ever- 
lasting kingdom. 

It is in reference to this glory that the elect 
children are called heirs of God, for God manifest 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 303 



in the flesh is their portion. They enjoy the in- 
heritance because they are Christ's, and Christ is one 
with the Father. So that the Father and the Son 
and the saints, shall all he glorified together. 
"Whatever glory the Son has obtained, the saints 
shall share it with him at the first resurrection, for 
they shall then sit with him on his oim throne. That 
throne is said (Isa. ix. 7) to be an everlasting throne, 
the throne of David ; a description applied to the 
holy seed by the angel at the annunciation, and cited 
by St. Peter (Acts ii. 30) as a proof that Christ's 
humanity saw 710 corruption, but is preserved for 
universal dominion, when the kingdoms of this 
world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord ; even 
those new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth 
righteousness. And thus, seated by the Conqueror's 
side, the saints shall he joint heirs tvith Christ. 

On this ground the apostle proceeds to instruct 
and comfort the Church upon the glorious issues of 
the present dispensation. As a calculator of no 
ordinary experience, he pronounces the prospect 
to be full of sustaining joy to the believer. 
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present 
time are not worthy to be compared tvith the glory 
which shall be revealed in us. Dear brethren, 
have you mastered this difficult arithmetic ? 
Having added up your losses for Christ in one 
column, and your gains by him in another, have 



304 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



you been enabled to discover such an enormous 
balance in favour of the Christian life that you can 
set your seal to the same truth, experimentally 
satisfied that the heaviest trials of time are but as 
the dust of the balance compared with the exceeding 
and eternal iceight of glory which shall he revealed 
in you ? 

We are next instructed that this glory consists 
firsts in the manifestation of the sons of God, or 
the showing forth of the full sonship and adoption 
of the elect ; which is declared (1 John iii. 2) to 
mean a perfected likeness to Christ in the glorified 
body at his appearing ; and secondly, in the resti- 
tution of all things. 

For this glorious manifestation and kingdom to 
come the creature is said to be waiting with hope 
and earnest expectation. 

Let us firsts closely examine the text and the con- 
text, in reference to the subject proposed — "The 
pledge herein afforded of surpassing glory at the 
coming of the Lord;" and, secondly, draw from it 
some practical improvement. 

In saying that the long expectation of the Second 
Advent is a pledge that its fulfilment will be 
accompanied by circumstances of unprecedented 
grandeur ; — that there will then be exhibited such 
a discomfiture of the powers of darkness, and such 
a display of the heavenly glory as the eye of 



A PLEDGE OE SURPASSING GLOE-Y. 305 



man hath never yet seen, nor his ear heard, nor 
his heart conceived we refer to that sustaining 
anticipation of the return of the Son of man, which 
has, in every age, with more or less clearness, 
cheered the hearts of some Christian believers, 
who looked for light only to the Searcher and 
Revealer of the deep things of God, and prayer- 
fully compared spiritual tilings with spiritual. 
Expectations there have been on this subject, dear 
to the heart, and yet ruinous to the soul ; as having 
no warrant in ihe Scriptures of truth. Such are the 
delusions of the Mahometan paradise. And there 
have been expectations, less at variance with truth, 
deeply cherished, and yet vain. Such were the 
anticipations of the Jews respecting the nature of 
the First Advent ; such, at a later period, the 
conclusions of the fifth monarchy men respecting 
its period. The question is, What says the 
Scripture ? Does it there appear that the earnest 
expectation of the creature, under the gradually 
increasing light of each successive dispensation 
for near 6000 years, is a Divine assurance, that, 
when the desire comeih, it will he a Tree of life 
loaded with all manner of marvellous and glorious 
fruits. May the Holy Spirit keep us from all error 
in the inquiry, and guide us into all truth ! 

We inquire not into the crigin of sin, either in 
heaven or earth: it would he aiming to he wise 



306 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



above ivhat is written. We can only thus far see, 
that the happiness of a finite being, in communion 
with an infinite, is as much dependent on the 
willing submission of the one, as on the perfect 
goodness, wisdom, and power of the other. 
Obedience, to be acceptable, must spring from the 
will, constrained by the affections. A compulsory 
obedience would be fatal to the perfection of the 
happiness which God designed. So that, when 
the will of man became diverse to the will of God, 
(and as a creature man was necessarily liable to 
this change,) that act of disobedience was the 
death of the soul's enjoyment in fellowship with 
the Creator, as certainly as a sword passing through 
the heart would be the annihilation of the body's 
life. This having happened, the Divine likeness 
was effaced, the Divine law dishonoured, and the 
creature was robbed of his joy ; a blighting curse 
fell on all creation, and the adversary erected his 
throne amid the ruins of a fallen world. The 
great problem now solving before the universe is 
the extraction from this apparent evil of yet more 
abundant good. Through a live-long night of 
darkness and disorder, the bereaved family of man 
has now been waiting for the return of its promised 
Deliverer ; and, in the fulness of time, when the 
Divine purpose in this dispensation shall have 
ripened, and the malignity of sin and the glory 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 307 



of God's perfection as far as possible exliibitecl to the 
Church, then the sign of the Son of man shall be 
seen, and the promise (Acts i. 11) be fulfilled. 
This same Jesus ivhich is taken up from you, 8fc. 

Meanwhile, the earnest expectation of the 
creature waitethfor the manifestation of the sons of 
God. The reference to the ichole creation is here 
so manifest from the original, that the notion 
respecting the Gentiles being meant by the creature, 
only serves to show the lengths to which theologians 
of the last century were prepared to go rather than 
admit the truth of Millennarian views of Scripture. 
However, by one eminent commentator of that 
period,* the word is defined to be " the whole frame 
of nature that is, every individual thing of this 
planet, which, having been created straight and 
orderly, was brought into the bondage of corruption 
and the misery of disorder by the disobedience and 
fall of man. This is the meaning of the word in other 
sacred Scriptures, and in the best Greek authors. 
The most learned of the Fathers also explain it as 
including "the brute beasts and creatures in- 
sensate, 5 ' as well as man. It is, hi fact, so translated 
inverse 22. The singular number is used as the most 
comprehensive and expressive form in which all 
things composing the world could be described, 
mutually depending, as they do, on each other. 
* Rev. Matthew Henry. 



308 



THE LONG EXPECTATION. 



All were made perfectly good by the Son of God ; 
all shared the blighting effects of transgression. 
By him all things shall be restored and made new. 
(Rev. xxi. 5.) It is said to be for these glorious times 
of the restitution of all things that, even in their 
groaning condition, they are kept from falling to 
pieces by the sustaining power of the Son of man ; 
by Him all things consist or stand together. And 
when that august day arrive that He shall be 
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in 
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, a tremendous convulsion will sift 
the whole frame of nature : all the effects of the 
curse shall be removed : there shall be a purifying 
baptism of fire, as once there was of water : the 
dross of corruption shall be consumed by the 
brightness of his coming. Instead of the thorn 
(the especial mark of the curse) shall come up the 
fir-tree; and instead of the brier shall come up the 
myrtle-tree. (Is.lv. 13.) The icolf and the lamb 
shall dwell together, and the lion shall eat straw 
like the ox. (Is. lxv. 25.) They shall not hurt nor 
destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall 
be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters 
cover the sea. (Is. xi. 9.) 

At present, the creature retains all the marks of 
having become subject to vanity, — fruitless and un- 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 309 



profitable to God. — u Disaster/' is written on the 
forefront of the whole creation. Man, though the 
highest part of the dust of the earth (Prov. viii. 26), 
is a poor vile creature, crushed before the moth. 
Verily, every man living (in regard to his mortal 
condition), at his best state, is altogether vanity. 
All are captivated by the la ic of sin. The universal 
history of the world, with its whole animate and 
inanimate family, in reference to its original 
design, is " one great impertinence." 

The whole guilt of this moral insolvency of the 
creation, lays at the door of man : — other creatures 
fell, not willingly, but by reason of Adam's sin. 
It was an inseparable judicial result of the sove- 
reign creatures's alienation from God, and conse- 
quent loss of purity and power. Possibly the sus- 
tenance of the immortal man would have been 
perilous to the organs of the corrupt man. Be 
that as it may, the fact is too palpable that the 
tvhole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain 
together until note. Their speech, indeed, uttereth 
praise to God, but they resound only with reproach 
on the apostate who severed them from liberty 
and peace. 

But our text goes on to say, that all this vanity 
shall cease whenever the curse shall be removed 
from the body of man. " As the creation was 
made corruptible by us, so shall it be made incor- 



310 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



ruptible with, us. 55 * The creature is subjected in 
hope. By a striking prosopopoeia, all nature is 
here represented as waiting in a posture of intense 
desire ; groaning, as in labour ; and crying out in 
pain, to be delivered of its defilement and 
bondage and dishonour : longing to share with 
man his restored union with God, and again 
minister to man's comfort and the Creator's glory. 

The other expressions all refer to the objects of 
hope and desire left to the fallen creature. It 
voaiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 
Believers are in this world God's hidden ones.f 
It does not yet appear ichat they shall be. They only 
know that when Jesus comes they shall be like 
him : having suffered with him and for him on 
earth, — on earth they shall reign with him. The 
vile body of sin and death, being changed, that it 
may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, 
according to the working tvhereby he is able even to 
subdue all things unto himself ; they shall be 
set at liberty to see and love and praise their 
heavenly Father, without mixture of infirmity. 
In this tabernacle we groan, being burthened, ear- 
nestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house 
which is from heaven. (2 Cor. v. 2.) The 
assumption of the glorified body will complete the 

* Tlieodoret and others of the Fathers, 
f Ps. lxxxiii. 3. 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. oil 

adoption. It is at the resurrection of the just that 
the believer is admitted to his joint heirship with 
the Son of David, and openly declared to be a son 
of God with power. As yet the sons and daughters 
of the Lord Almighty have received only the 
Holy Spirit of promise as an earnest of the 
inheritance, something graciously paid in part, as 
a security for the payment of the whole, a pledge 
of the glory to be revealed in them when the fitting 
time shall come for the purchased possession to be 
fully redeemed. Rightfully our whole souls, and 
bodies, and spirits, are the purchased property of 
the kinsman Redeemer ; but as yet the spirit only 
is renewed : we wait for the adoption, to wit, 
the redemption of our body. That no less than 
the soul must be purged from all defilement, for 
nothing that defileth shall enter into the Neiv Jeru- 
salem. 

From this fact the apostle draws a practical 
admonition to the Church. Grieve not the Holy 
Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day 
of redemption : (Eph. iv. 30). And whenever this 
set time draw near, we are told that certain pre- 
dicted signs shall instruct the wise and watching 
servants, that their Master is at hand, and that they 
may begin to look up, and lift up their heads, for 
their redemption draiceth nigh : (Luke xxi. 28). 

With this understanding of the text, let us 



312 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



now turn to the context, and notice how important 
it is, in reading the Scriptures, to bear these ele- 
vating truths in mind. All Scripture testifies of 
Jesus, and when he himself opened the Old Tes- 
tament to his disciples, he began at Moses, and in 
the Prophets and Psalms, and all the Scriptures, 
he expounded unto them the things concerning 
himself. (Luke xxiv. 27, 44.) 

There are, indeed, few prophecies which have 
not some reference to the second coming of Christ. 
Often the Holy Spirit, in one verse, passing 
rapidly over thousands of years, with a sublime 
comprehensiveness peculiar to the omniscient mind 
of God, includes all the mysteries of grace mani- 
fested in the holy child born, and all the majesty 
of universal and everlasting dominion exhibited 
in the Prince of peace and King of kings. Most 
of the Psalms are Divine meditations, and songs 
of praise on the person and triumphs of the Re- 
deemer, in the latter-day glory of his Church. 
The Holy Spirit has been pleased to give his own 
commentary, in the New Testament, on many of 
his revelations in the Old. To take one example 
of this ; — we are told, in the second chapter of 
Hebrews, that the eighth Psalm is a triumphant 
celebration of the Messiah's reign over the rescued 
and restored creation. He is represented as 
crowned with honour and glory ; — having dominion 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 318 

over all the earth, including the beasts of the 
field ', and the fords of the air : — all things are to be 
put under Ms feet, whether they be things in heaven 3 
or things on earth, or things under the earth, angels, 
men, and devils, with all the inferior creation, are 
to own his sovereign sway : and the highest angelic 
beings will count it their happiness to worship 
him. Some of these psalms would seem to be 
expressly provided for the Church to be singing 
while the Lord is descending from above. 

Take this as an illustration of our text : and 
if, with such views of the coming reign of 
Christ, we search the Scriptures, much obscurity 
will be removed, and great light and clearness on 
many prophetical passages imparted. 

The only portion which I shall bring before you 
from the New Testament is Rev. v. 1 — 10. It 
shows us in what light the redemption spoken of in 
the text is regarded by the saints who are already 
with Jesus_ 

The scenes of the vision here displayed to the 
apostle were admirably adapted to the comprehen- 
sion of one versed in the Jewish law. It appears 
from Leviticus xxv. 23 — 28, and Deut. xxv. 5 — 10, 
that the children of Israel held their possessions in 
the Holy Land as a grant in perpetuity from the 
Lord. If distress compelled any of them to raise 
money upon his inheritance, or to sell it, a clause 

p 



314 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



was inserted in the conveyance or mortgage-deed, 
by which he, or a certain near kinsman, reserved 
the right of redeeming and re-entering upon it, 
under stated conditions. The conditions were two- 
fold. First, the principal and interest of the debt, 
calculated to the next jubilee (at which all lands 
reverted to the original possessor), were to be paid 
up. And, secondly, the kinsman redeemer, was 
required to marry the widow, if the proprietor had 
died. Should he refuse thus to complete the re- 
demption, the shoe was loosed from off his foot; 
which explains the Baptist's expression (John 
i. 27). When the Levites asked him if he were 
the Redeemer, he denied it, and pointed to Christ 
as the kinsman who was come to perform the con- 
ditions ; so that no man was worthy to take off his 
shoe, or even to unloose the latchet of it. You will 
find this strikingly illustrated in the case of Ruth 
and Boaz (Ruth iii. 9, 12, and iv. S — 7). One 
other interesting fact is mentioned in Jeremiah 
xxxii. 6 — 15. There was a book called the book of 
the purchase, in which, at the time of mortgaging or 
alienating the property from the family, the con- 
tracting parties and the kinsman who claimed 
the heirship, with certain witnesses, subscribed 
their names. This book, partly sealed and partly 
open, was delivered to the priest, and not to be 
given up till the kinsman redeemer could substan- 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 



315 



tiate his claims by fulfilling the two conditions, 
viz,,, paying the price and marrying the widow. 
On doing this, the book was delivered to him as the 
rightful heir, and he broke the seals. 

Now let us turn to Rev. v. Was not this the 
book seen in the right hand of him that sat on the 
throne ? Adam had been put into full possession 
of all the earth (Gen. L 28). He sold his inhe- 
ritance into the hand of a stranger to his family. 
Satan entered on the dominion of this world; and 
all the posterity and dependents of Adam were 
left as a disconsolate widow to groan in desolation 
and captivity, being burthened with the curse of 
sin. The great question before the universe was : — 
Who can redeem the creature from the stranger's 
power ? Who can pay the price of its release, 
and restore the widow to the honours of the mar- 
ried wife ; and thus be able to demand the deed of 
evidence, and to loose the seals thereof? This 
appears to be the question of the second verse. And 
I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 
Wlio is worthy to open the booh, and to loose the 
seals thereof? And there was silence in heaven 
for awhile. And no man in heaven, nor in earth, 
neither under the earth, teas able to open the book, 
neither to look thereon. And Itvept much, because 
no man teas found worthy to open and to read the 
book, neither to look thereon. What J shall the 

p 2 



316 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



purpose of God be thwarted ? Shall the universe 
incur the dire misfortune of seeing any of 
Jehovah's attributes short of perfection ? 

While the harps of heaven thus paused in their 
melody, one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not : 
behold the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Moot 
of David, hath prevailed to open the booh, and to 
loose the seven seals thereof Jesus Christ, our 
kinsman Redeemer, the root and offspring of 
David, David's son in the flesh, David's Lord 
in the Deity, hath paid down the costly price 
of redemption. Owing nothing on his own ac- 
count, he, for our sakes, hath performed a spotless 
obedience even unto the death of a malefactor on the 
cross. Then John looked and behold it was the 
Lamb slain, and not the Lion in his strength, that 
he saw; for he looked with the eye of faith. He 
saw the Redeemer come and take the booh out of 
the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 
And the melody of the celestial choir is heard 
again, and they have tuned their harps to a 
new song, saying, Thou art worthy to tahe the 
booh, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast 
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out 
of every hindred, and tongue, and people, and 
nation ; and hast made us unto our God hings and 
priests ; and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 
v. 5, 10.) 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 317 

Thus are the spirits of the just worshipping and 
adoring tire Lamb, by whose blood they are re- 
deemed^ and joyfully anticipating the glorious 
consummation of all their hopes ; when, reunited 
with their risen and glorified bodies, they shall 
sit on Jesus's throne, and reign with him on the 
earth. 

Here, then, is a pledge that, at that great jubilee 
of the universe, the adoption, to wit, the redemption 
of the body, so long waited for, so anxiously ex- 
pected, shall be complete, and all things restored; 
and that Satan, who is already turned out of pos- 
session of every renewed heart (as an earnest of 
redemption}, shall be bruised under the saints' feet. 
The Captain of our salvation has girded his sword 
upon his thigh, and fought for his bride ; and he is 
now arraying her in fine linen, clean and white, 
which is the righteousness of saints, His parting 
word was, / will see you again, and your heart 
shall rejoice. The mourning widow shall then 
become the LamVs wife. The King greatly desires 
her beaidy ; and he would have her all glorious 
within. Limb by liinb he is adorning his betrothed 
for the wedding. Every soul delivered from the 
power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom 
of God's dear Son, is a new member of the bride. 
The Gospel trumpet is now sounding in every 
tongue and through every land to call in his 
redeemed. TThile one of God's chosen remains 



318 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



to be regenerated and born again of the Spirit, the 
bridegroom tarries. He must be glorified in all 
his saints; and bis long-suffering patience is 
now exercised, not willing that any should perish, 
but that all should come to repentance. But he 
longs to see of the travail of his soul, and to take 
home his beloved to his palace : (Ps. xly. 15). 
Every hour is adding to that great multitude which 
no man can number, which shall be gathered out 
of the world > and stand before the throne clad in 
the garments of salvation. When the number of 
the elect shall be accomplished, the kingdom of 
God shall come ; and the righteous living, " with all 
who have departed in the true faith, shall have their 
perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and 
soul, in God's eternal and everlasting glory."* 
Then shall be heard the voice as of a great multi- 
tude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the 
voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad 
and rejoice, and give honour to him : for the mar- 
riage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made 
herself ready. (Eev. xix. 6, 7.) 

Here, then, we have an illustration of that 
redemption for which " the creature 99 is anxiously 
waiting ; and here we see, in the Lord's tarrying, 
a pledge that his victory shall be complete ; that 
the enemy and the avenger shall be stilled, for ever ; 
* Church Burial Service. 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 319 

the largest possible amount of good issue from this 
apparent evil ; the light of the knowledge of God's 
glory in the face of Jesus Christ as fully displayed 
to the understanding and admiration of the saints 
as they have capacity or meekness to receive, and 
the whole redeemed man, beautified with Chrisfs 
salvation, shall be blessed with the full fruition of 
God himself, as his glorious and everlasting por- 
tion. Dear brethren, when our hearts are trou- 
bled, and we would have the Lord make haste to 
come, let this consideration check our impatience : 
that there yet may be many a prodigal son wasting 
his substance in a far country, and that God is 
graciously waiting till the dead shall be alive, and 
the lost be found. 

Such is the Scripture doctrine of redemption, or 
the perfect deliverance and regeneration of the 
tvhole creation, to which the creature looks forward 
with earnest expectation. Traces of it are found in 
the earliest ages of the world, as the source of 
comfort to the believer, and of warning to the 
ungodly. Job, in the midst of his deep sorrow, 
lifted up his heart, and said, 1 know that my 
Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the 
lattef day upon the earth : And though after my 
skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall 
I see God : Whom I shall see for myself, and mine 
eyes shall behold, and not another. Enoch aroused 
the careless of his generation, by preaching to them 



320 



THE LOXG EXPECTATION 



the second coming of Christ : ( Jude 14). The pro- 
mise of this glorious reign on earth would seem, 
indeed, to be the silver chord that runs through 
every past dispensation, giving life and animation to 
the Church. Each had its share in the advance- 
ment of this mighty purpose, and when that was 
fulfilled, it gave way to clearer light and other ma- 
nifestations of the Divine plan. Four thousand 
years was the world training for the first advent ; 
and now, in these last days, the eye of faith sees 
every thing around bending to the dispensation of 
the fulness of times when God trill gather together 
in one all things in Christ, when he shall return in 
the glory of the Father, and in his own glory, and of 
the holy angels. Personally he is known to this world 
only in the deep humiliation of the suffering man- 
hood; wounded for our transgressions, and bruised 
for our iniquities. But he suffered these things that 
he might enter into his glory : and distinctly do 
the Scriptures set forth as a part of that glory the 
many crowns of earthly dominion, the government 
of a renovated earth. (Is. ix. 7; Rev. xix. 12; 
xii. 6, &c.) 

Jehovah has once appeared in the posture of 
entreaty, beseeching men to be reconciled to him. 
He will next appear as a warrior, with his gar- 
ments rolled in the blood of his despisers. Until 
noic, groaning and conflict, oppression and bond- 
age, is the condition of this sin-darkened world. 



A PLEDGE OE SURPASSING GLORY. 321 

Even the sanctuary of the believer's breast is often 
overcast by the shadow of that cloud. But the 
pangs of the creature are those of travail and not of 
death, A new earth and new heavens are coming 
to the birth, and the days will not be accomplished 
for the delivery till God sees that all his projects 
of glory are matured. Prepare, brethren, for a 
fiercer struggle ere the Deliverer come. The 
heaviest throes of the labour are those which pre- 
cede the birth. That day shall not come except 
there come a falling away first ; and the lawless 
one be revealed, and the nations be sifted with the 
sieve of vanity, and a distincter separation made 
between the Church and the world, so as to exhibit 
more clearly the enmity which God hath put 
between them. 

Dear brethren, while the bridegroom tarries, 
see that ye have oil in your vessels. Settle the 
question of your soul's hopes, and seek to be deeply 
rooted and grounded in the faith ; for amid the 
coming distress of nations with perplexity, and 
hearts failing for fear , they only who are on the 
Lord's side shall be gathered into the ark of safety. 
While every mere outer-court worshipper shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles, his own elect shall 
God hide beneath the shadow of his wings, until 
the indignation be overpast, (Ps. lvii. 1 ; Is. xxvi. 
20.) The first watch of this weary night saw the 

p 3 



322 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



deluge of waters descend in wrath, on a sinful 
generation, but there was an ark prepared for the 
faithful few. The second' watch brought the storm 
of fire on the ungodly cities, but ere it fell the 
righteous family were conducted to a city of refuge. 
At the third ivatch the Roman eagles gathered to 
the prey, and Jerusalem became an heap of stones ; 
but God restrained the armies of the alien till all 
his own people were safe in the mountain. Even 
thus shall it be in the day when the Soil of man is 
revealed : (Luke xvii. 80) . At that fourth watch 
of the night his tempest-tossed disciples shall hear, 
above the strife of the billows, the sweet voice of 
their returning Lord, saying, Be ye of good cheer, 
it is i, be not afraid. While the great mass of 
mankind, as in the days of Noah and Lot, shall be 
minding earthly things (Luke xvii. 27, 28 ; Phil, 
iii. 19) ; settling down on a false security (1 Thess. 
v. 3) ; having the form of godliness, but denying 
the power thereof (2 Tim. iii. 5) ; and impatient at 
the preaching of Christ's glorious reign on earth 
(2 Pet. iii. 4, &c.) ; the watching servant of God 
shall not be in darkness : he shall be instructed by 
the signs of the times to trim his lamp and hasten 
unto the appearing of his Lord. An evening tide 
light shall be shed for him on coming events, and 
to him knowledge shall be increased. He shall 
stand ready to be received up to that glory cloud 



A PLEDGE OE SURPASSING GLORY. 



323 



on which Jesus shall descend, ere the brightness of 
his presence go forth to purge the earth. Now we 
see through a glass darkly, hut then face to face. 
The candle of the Lord in every believer's soul, 
divested of its encasement of clay, and clothed upon 
with its house from heaven, shall enjoy the full 
commingling of its rays with the light of the Lamb, 
Then shall all the kingdoms of this world become the 
kingdoms of God, and of his Christ, and he shall 
reign for ever and ever. The prince of this world 
shall be righteously expelled from his usurped 
dominion, and there shall be nothing to hurt nor 
destroy in all this holy mountain of the Lord, 
Love shall bear sovereign sway over every heart, 
and shed its heavenly sweetness over every thought, 
and word, and action. One note of praise shall 
descend from heaven to earth, and ascend from 
earth to heaven again, saying, Hallelujah, for the 
Lord God oynnipotent reigneth. 

In conclusion, I would briefly remind you of 
the practical importance of this doctrine, and the 
frequent use made of it in the New Testament, 
as a motive for watchfulness, and a source of con- 
solation to the Church.* 

The time seems long, as we reckon time, but the 

* See Matt xvi. 27; xsiv. 42—51; xxv. 6—13; 1 Cor. 
i. 7. 8; Phil. iv. 5; 1 Peter i. 13; 1 John ii. 28; 1 Thess. 
v. 2,4, 6) Heb. x. 24 ; James v. 7, 8 ; &c , &c. 



324 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some 
men count slackness. Though for 6,000 years the 
storms of sin have beaten on our planet, and 
changed it to a waste holding wilderness, it will 
seem but a little day to look back upon from the 
eternal mansions of the blessed. Millions of ages 
will roll on, and millions more succeed them ; and 
still the saints of the Most High will be speaking one 
to another of the cloud which enveloped in darkness 
this once fair garden of the Lord, in the infancy of 
its existence. Then shall Wisdom he justified of her 
children ; and the adversary, who seemed for a 
moment to thwart the benevolence of the Infinite 
and Eternal shall be seen to have ministered to his 
glory. The sorrow permitted to endure for the 
night will only enhance the joy which cometh in 
the morning. Seeing, then, that all these things 
shall he dissolved, tvhat manner of persons ought ye 
to he in all holy conversation and godliness ? 

How are your minds affected doctri?ially and 
practically on the subject of Christ's personally 
appearing in his kingdom. 

Doctrinally. Have you prayerfully searched 
the Scriptures tvhether these things he so ? If the 
spirits of the just made perfect are expecting, with 
intense desire, the time when they shall put on 
their resurrection bodies, and *reign with Christ on 
* Zech. xiv. 5; Rev. xx. 6; Rev. v. 10, 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 325 



the earth, how strange must it appear to them 
that this crowning act of the Redeemer's glory — - 
the theme of their unceasing song, should be so 
little regarded^ as the animating object of hope, 
and the solemn ground of admonition to living man. 
In the first ages of Christianity the doctrine,, as far 
as we can learn, universally prevailed in the 
Church. Some of the fathers added, indeed, many 
traditionary details respecting the restored earth ; 
but they all substantially taught the pre-millennial 
advent and reign of Christ as we have endeavoured 
to put it before you. It was during the spiritual 
bondage of the middle ages that the doctrine was 
most violently opposed. The features of the mystic 
Baby Jon were too plainly portrayed in the domi- 
nant Church to expect from her aught but the 
most vindictive persecution of those who dared thus 
to apply the prophetical denunciations of the Word. 
The blessed Reformation in some measure let loose 
these scriptural and primeval truths.* After much 
error and opposition, even from devout Christians, 
there is undeniably a wide-spread revival of the doc- 
trine in our day, an unclosing of the Apocalyptic 
vision, and an increase of knowledge, which would 
seem to indicate that the time of the end is nigh (Dan. 

* See the Catechism of Edward VI. on the petition, u Thy 
kingdom come." 



S26 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



xii. 4, 9). The two great principles at work are, 
first, an undue regard to the form of godliness, 
whereby man is exalted ; and second, the growing 
light of millennarian doctrines, whereby man is 
humbled. We believe them to be antagonist prin- 
ciples, and that the increasing acceptance of the 
latter is a timely and an especial mercy to the 
Church. 

But there are many who say, I hold the doc- 
trine of Christ's second coming at the end of the 
world, and as to the Millennium, I believe it to be 
a period of spiritual blessedness before he comes. 

Believing that such views throw an indistinct- 
ness over the Christian's hope, and greatly tarnish 
the Redeemer's glory, I would offer a few sug- 
gestions connected with this subject. Believers 
are said in Scripture to love the appearing of Christ. 
But how can they do so, except his appearing 
effect some great change in their favour, far sur- 
passing any glory which the most spiritual condition 
without Christ can give ? There can be no 
earnest expectation in the creature for the Lord's 
personal return, if the world is to be brought to a 
state of sinless peace before that event. Such a 
doctrine may have a nominal place in your creed, 
but it can have no hold on your affections. The 
Scriptures plainly contradict such a notion. It is 
said : The Lord shall he revealed from heaven with 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLOKY. 



327 



his mighty angels (the usual description of his 
personal advent), and his coining will give rest to 
his suffering people — not find them at rest — and 
inflict vengeance on their enemies who will then 
be troubling them. (2 Thess. i. T.) The parable 
of the wheat and the tares also shows that there 
will be a mixture of good and evil, believers and 
unbelievers, till the Lord comes icith his angels. 
Even the petition winch he taught us to use, Thy 
will he done, 8fc. } is to be offered up till the moment 
of his appearance ; implying, that there shall be no 
perfect identity of will between God and the 
creature till Christ shall come and make all things 
new. 

Moreover, we are charged with lowering the 
dignity of Jesus, and lessening the happiness of 
the believer by these views. This arises from an 
unscriptural notion of the sources and character of 
future happiness. Many tHnk that the soul of 
the believer, on its departure, takes immediate 
possession of its crown in glory : and they regard 
heaven as some region of ethereal brightness 
utterly unconnected with any thing with which 
they have hitherto been conversant. If it were 
so — if the soul attain to the full enjoyment of 
heaven immediately on its separation from the 
body, then the resurrection itself would be a 
misfortune. It were better for the body to remain 



328 



THE L02;G expectation 



in the grave than to come forth, under the most 
favourable circumstances, to corporealize a spirit 
already satisfied with bliss. The redemption of the 
body, instead of being (as our text declares) the 
great subject of earnest expectation, would then be 
only a source of regret. No, we contend that the 
soul, in its disembodied state, cannot receive that 
measure of happiness which the Creator has in his 
love provided ; and we do so on two grounds : 

1. In its separate state the soul is a memorial of 
sin. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, 
and that destruction cannot be complete while any 
mark of sin remains in earth or heaven. The 
separation of soul and body is the result of sin : 
and their reunion in perfect glory must be 
achieved ere the work of redemption can be com- 
plete. The petition of our Burial service strikingly 
illustrates this. u We beseech thee, O Lord, that 
it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness, 
shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, 
and to hasten thy kingdom ; that we, with all those 
that are departed in the true faith of thy holy 
Name, may have our perfect consummation 
and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal 
and everlasting glory." The happiness of the 
soul, then, in its disembodied state, is necessarily 
imperfect ; because its bereavement is a standing 
testimony that an enemy has done mischief. 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 329 



Paradise is indeed suited to its widowhood, as 
being free from all taint and strife of sin, and so 
far it is made perfect ; but even there (as we have 
seen) the Spirit longs for the full adoption, to ivit, the 
redemption of the body, when its old companion in 
suffering will become its glorified partaker of the 
rescued inheritance. The dying believer's soul 
enters into rest, not into full glory; his flesh rests in 
hope (Ps. xvi.) till the Chief Shepherd shall appear. 
The surpassing glory of the coming kingdom 
consists in being icith Christ, and seeing Him as 
He is. In our highest anticipations of bliss, we 
can conceive nothing, desire nothing, more bliss- 
ful than this ; and this is not to be attained 
(1 John hi. 2) till the Son of man return to the 
earth again. 

2. Another reason for believing that the 
redemption of the body is needful to the consum- 
mation of the soul's bliss, is found in the original 
constitution of man. The Creator, who is Lore, 
made us for the enjoyment of Himself ; which is 
the only happiness provided for the reasonable 
creature. The being whom God created in his 
own image consisted of a body as well as a soul ; 
and thus formed, the Creator declared his condition 
to be perfect. The mouth of infinite wisdom and 
goodness pronounced this compound creature very 
good ; adapted to his benevolent designs ; and 



330 



THE LONG EXPECTATION 



capable of the utmost happiness to which a finite 
being can attain. Hence, as to the believer, the 
mercy of their reunion at the resurrection of the 
just and the manifestation of the sons of God. 

But the subject rises vastly in interest and im- 
portance when we ask, " How does it practically 
affect us ?" The great question which we have all 
to settle is, Am I prepared to meet God f or, in 
other words, Do I love the appearing of the Lord ? 
for the Scripture says that a crown of righteousness 
awaits those who do. If conscience tell any of 
you that you are satisfied with the world as it is, 
your condition is unutterably sad. You may 
daily pray with your lips that the kingdom of God 
may come, but when the voice of the Archangel 
shall proclaim that it is at hand, you will say to the 
mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from 
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from 
the wrath of the Lamb : for the great day of his 
wrath is come. 

I know that the most devoted servant of the 
Lord will have to the last much remaining sin to 
struggle with ; but his heart is with God, and his 
affections on things above ; and to him the coming 
of Christ will be the fulfilment of earnest expecta- 
tion. Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the 
coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman 
waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and 



A PLEDGE OF SURPASSING GLORY. 831 



hath long patience for it, until he receive the early 
and latter rain. Be ye also patient y stablish your 
hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth 
nigh : (James y. 7, 8.) The harvest is not fit 
for the sickle, till the winter's storm has given 
firmness to its root, and the suns of spring have 
strengthened its blade, and nourished its ear to 
ripeness. And thus are the alternating provi- 
dences and trials of this groaning condition 
gradually training God's husbandry for the glories 
of the millennial harvest- day. That day is at 
hand. The forewarning signs of our Lord's 
return are gathering a distincter outline in the 
forecast shadows of on-coming events. In looking 
back upon the six dark days of labour and sorrow, 
during which the tchole creation has groaned under 
the bondage of corruption, let us comfort one 
another in this, — that there is already an edging of 
gold on those clouds, indicating the dawn of a 
glorious Sabbath — the bright millennial day. 

The subject, then, is most practical, most 
urgent ! There is no question that concerns us 
like this. If you have repented and been converted, 
the coming of the Redeemer will be a time of 
refreshing from the presence of the Lord : (Acts 
iii. 19). But everything, save a settled faith in 
Jesus, will be found unequal to the fiery trial of 
those last days. The poison of the serpent will 
then be offered as the cup of salvation. Satan will 



332 THE LONG EXPECTATION 

clothe himself in the garments of light, as a mes- 
senger come from God with, the news of another 
Gospel. May you all have wisdom to discern, 
faith to reject, and strength to escape the subtle 
snare ! Faith it is which brings God into the soul, 
and gives the mind of Christ. There is in every 
true believer a oneness of will which simply 
acquiesces in the doings of God, because it is 
renewed after his image. And thus it is that our 
Lord puts the expression, Thy will be done, on 
earth, as it is in heaven, into the petition which 
he has left for the use of every heaven-taught 
covenanted child of God. 

I speak to those who are peculiarly exposed to 
temptation. With peculiar emphasis, then, would 
I say to you (and I know my dear brother will 
not think that in this counsel I am invading his 
province, but rather strengthening his hands), I 
would leave this one voice in your ear, and, if the 
Lord will, in your heart, Looh to Jesus ! Pray for 
the single eye, that you may look to nothing else 
but Jesus. Put the crown of your victory on his 
head alone. Meanwhile, you will have need of all 
the strength and grace that he has promised you. 
Get ready for sifting times. There is a cloud of 
portentous darkness rising out of the sea, already 
bigger than a man's hand ; and ere this generation 
pass, the atmosphere of the Church may be black 
with storms. Let every halting soul make haste 



A PLEDGE OE SURPASSING GLORY. 



to get him. up iiito the chariot of the everlasting 
Gospel with Jesus. There shall he ride in safety and 
in peace, amid the struggle of the last perilous times, 
keptby th e power of God, tlx rough faith , unto salvation . 

To the waiting and watching servant the appear- 
ing of his Lord is the sight for which his soul is 
longing. Till that day of the adoption, he is 
content to endure hardness, as a good soldier of 
Christ, reckoning that the sufferings of this present 
time are not worthy to he compared with the 
glory which shall he revealed. Brethren, till 
that manifestation of the Prince of peace, let us 
stand in our armour ; and, with our back against 
the rock of the Gospel, fight the good fight of 
faith, that we may finish our course with joy. 
Tliere is no discharge in this war till death sum- 
mon us, or the trump of God proclaim that 
the Lord is descending from heaven. Then shall 
the dead in Christ arise from their graves, and 
ice ichich are alive and remain shall he caught up 
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord 
in the air: (1 Thess. iv. 17). There are some 
sweet hymns provided for that glorious scene, 
and I will leave one of them on your ear. Lo, 
this is our God ; ice have waited for him, and he 
will save us : this is the Lord ; we have waited for 
him, we will he glad and rejoice in his salvation. 
(Isa. xxv. 9.) 



LECTURE XII. 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN THE CROSS AND 
THE KINGDOM. 



HON AND REV. H. MONTAGU VILLIERS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF ST. GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY. 



Luke XXIV. 26. 

" Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, 
and to enter into his glory 

In bringing' this course of sermons to a close, I 
desire to express my thankfulness to Almighty 
God for the body of scriptural truth, and the views 
of Christian practice, which my brethren have been 
enabled to set before you. Upon such a subject 
as unfulfilled prophecy, it was not to be expected 
that a body of Christian ministers, all fallible men, 
gathered from different parts of the country, should 
agree in every minute particular of detail. Nor 
does this affect the general question before us. 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN, &C. 



335 



It must have been satisfactory, I should trust, 
to all my hearers, at least to that portion of 
them who have long been accustomed to search 
the Scriptures, and who have a real and proper 
value for Protestantism, to hear the united testi- 
mony which has been borne to great and funda- 
mental truths of the Gospel, the fulness of the 
atonement made for sinners by our adorable Re- 
deemer, the fruits of the sovereign grace of God, 
manifested towards a fallen world. 

It. must have been no less gratifying to you to 
have heard the voice of some raised against the 
coldness of formality, and the deceitfulness of super- 
stition, while the same voice has not failed to notice 
the sin of schism, and the blessedness of brethren 
dwelling together in unity. Nor can I resist ex- 
pressing a hope that each of my hearers will, in 
his vocation and ministry exert himself to mani- 
fest the practical result of these warnings in his 
own life and conversation ; remembering that, 
though there are duties incumbent upon the nation 
at large, there are other duties no less incum- 
bent upon every individual member of the 
community, seeing that " no man should seek 
his otcn, hut every man another's wealth" (1 Cor. 
x. 24.) 

It will, perhaps^ have been remarked by you, 
that the present course has been of a more prac- 
tical character than the last, and that, therefore, 



336 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



your attention has been less frequently directed to 
the details of unfulfilled prophecy, and conse- 
quently that fewer of the general objections to the 
study of this most important subject, have been 
alluded to. It falls, however, to me this evening 
to refute a very common argument : I mean that 
the supposition of Christ's personal return to reign 
in glory upon the throne of his father David is 
derogatory to the Saviour's honour, is a carnal 
view, injurious to the growth of spiritual religion, 
and altogether unworthy of the great scheme of 
salvation. This, then, I am to refute, by pointing 
out the harmony hetween the cross and the kingdom 
of Christ. 

May the spirit of wisdom and of a sound mind 
be vouchsafed to me while I endeavour to unfold 
this interesting subject ; and may much grace be 
given to you, my dear brethren, to receive what- 
ever is spoken in accordance with the Word of 
God! 

Before I enter upon the argument itself, I 
must venture to remind the objectors, and they are 
very numerous, that the mere assertion of this 
doctrine being derogatory to the glory of God, 
might, with equal propriety, nay, with much 
greater force, have been adduced by the Jews 
against Messiah's first advent. Indeed, when they 
beheld Jesus, they rejected him, exclaiming, " Is 
not this the carpenter's son (Matt xiii. 55.) And 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 337 

so strongly impressed were they with the certainty 
of the Christ coming at once to reign in glory that 
the Jews are represented in the Parable as 
saying, We will not have this man to reign over as. 

Whose office is it, I would ask to determine 
whether this or that is derogatory to the glory of 
God 1 AYe, from whose eyes the veil has., by Divine 
grace, been removed, tell the Jew, that as the 
greatness of God's power was manifested by 
calling the world into being, out of nothing, so it 
is much more manifested in his redeeming the 
world by the vicarious atonement of his dear Son. 
We tell the crucifying Jew that Christ was indeed 
the Son of God, and that the TTord, having been 
made flesh, dwelt among us, and finally, through 
their wickedness, was crucified and slain, yet, hard 
as this is for them to believe, that all happened by 
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. 
(Acts iL 23.) TTe Gentiles are satisfied with this 
assertion. We condemn the Jew for unbelief — 
and comfort ourselves with our superior faith — and 
yet wherein do these objectors to the personal 
reign of our Lord at his second advent differ in 
principle from the Jew ? I repel their assertion, 
then, by another, that if it were not derogatory 
for him, who, being in the form of God, thought 
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made 
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the 

Q 



338 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of 
men, and being found in fashion as a man, 
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, 
even the death of the cross, (Phil. ii. 6 — 8,) it is 
not more derogatory that he who rose again from 
the grave, with a body capable of partaking of 
food, and who ascended up on high in the sight 
of his apostles, should again descend upon earth 
in human form as the angels foretold, saying, This 
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, 
shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him 
go into heaven. (Acts i. 11.) 

But so far from this objection being valid, I 
purpose proving that the harmony betiveen the cross 
and the kingdom is complete. This I shall do, 
first, by showing the reasonableness of this state- 
ment ; secondly, from analogy ; and thirdly, 
from the direct assertion of Scripture. 

First, then, from its reasonableness. We are 
taught that, although the seed of the woman shall 
ultimately bruise the serpent's head, yet for a 
season the serpent is to bruise his heel. I need 
not say, that from the hour at which that prophecy 
was uttered to the present time, Satan has been 
acting as the prince of this world. If I look to the 
cradle of the Messiah, I see that though he was 
" Messiah the Prince," yet for him there was no 
room in the inn — Satan rejoiced as he saw the 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 839 



infant Jesus lying dishonoured in the manger. 
If I follow him in his career I find, that though 
the foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, 
yet the Son of man had not where to lay his head. 
Do I read that He came to his own. I read again 
that His own received him not. But I need adduce 
no more upon this subject than the Saviour's words 
when Judas, possessed by Satan, came to betray 
him, This is your hoar, and the power of darkness. 
Was it then to be expected that this earth, the scene 
of all the woe, the battle-field of the diabolical 
conflict was in no wise to be concerned with 
the glorious return of the Great Captain of our 
salvation coming forth as he will conquering and to 
conquer ? Were men to hear him dishonoured 
day by day by an ungodly world, were they to 
see him denied by those whom he had purchased 
with a price, yea, crucified afresh and put to an 
open shame, and yet to be allowed to escape the 
humiliation of acknowledging him whom aforetime 
they had so shamefully and proudly despised ? 
Or was the Redeemer himself (I use the argument 
with the solemnity which a subject so sacred 
demands) to be called upon to submit to all the in- 
dignities which a stubborn generation might choose 
to inflict, and not in the glorious majesty of his pre- 
sence be allowed to see his enemies bow beneath 
his feet, ready then to " crown him Lord of all?" 

q 2 



340 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



Well might the Psalmist say, Why do the heathen 
rage, and the people imagine a vain thing ? The 
kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take 
counsel together, against the Lord, and against his 
anointed. But he that sitteth in the heavens shall 
laugh, : the Lord shall hare them in derision, for 
he has set his King upon his holy hill of Zion. 
(Ps. ii.j Surely it is to this that our Lord himself 
alludes when he says, When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, 
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, f Matt, 
xxv. 31.) And again, when the high priest adjured 
him by the living God to tell him whether he 
were the Christ, Jesus said, Hereafter shall ye see 
the Son of man sitting on the rigid hand of power, 
and coming in the clouds of heaven. (Matt, xxvi. 
64. J Observe, brethren, that these words were 
spoken, not to believing Gentiles, but to unbeliev- 
ing Jews, who for this very reply charged the 
Lord of Glory with speaking blasphemy. From 
which I conclude that it is but reasonable to expect 
that those who in the plenitude of their worldly 
power have reviled the Saviour, shall be witnesses, 
though not partakers, of his coming glory : in other 
words, that as Jesus endured the cross amongst 
men, so shall he among men triumphantly wear 
the crown. 

But again, It is reasonable to expect that his 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 



841 



people should enjoy their Saviour without the inter- 
mixture of sin which now alloys their happiness. 
I am aware that there is a class of Divines, I trust 
a class decreasing in "weight, if not in numbers, in 
this Protestant country, who ridicule what is gene- 
rally termed experimental religion. I confess I 
am not ashamed of the term, Christian experience ; 
it is a scriptural term (Rom. v. 4), and is one of 
the fruits of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Great 
are the comfort and joy which result from union 
with the Saviour, but still the old Adam remains 
ever in the regenerate, so that we cannot do the 
good that ice would. (Rom. vii. 19.) Sin adul- 
terates and weakens our Christian joy ; but the 
clearer our views are of Jesus the greater is our 
joy. Our joy will only be complete when we shall 
see him face to face ; when we shall see him as he 
is. And yet the recorded desire of our Lord is, 
that our joy may be full. It is reasonable to 
expect that this desire will be gratified. And when 
shall this be? Surely when Satan shall be bound 
and cast into the bottomless pit, that he should deceive 
the nations no more, till the thousand years should 
be fulfilled. (Rev. xx. 3.) * 

Once more, It is reasonable to expect that it shall 

* I am far from asserting that the millennial state is the 
final consummation of all things, but there is no necessity for 
entering upon that point in the present sermon. 



342 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



be made manifest that the crucified one is the Lord 
of glory. Time was when many were astonished 
at him ; his visage was so marred more than any 
man, and his form more than the sons of men, 
(Isa. Hi. 14.) Time was when he was offered to 
"bear the sins of many ; but time will be, when 
unto them that look for him shall he appear the 
second time without sin unto salvation, (Heb. 
ix. 28.) And then shall every creature which is 
in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, 
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, 
say, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power 
be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb, for ever and ever. (Rev. v. 13.) 

II. But I refrain from continuing this line of 
reasoning, and pass on to the arguments from 
analogy. I think you will invariably find that 
suffering in some shape has always been the path 
which leads to glory. I might commence this 
view of my subject by an illustration from the 
vegetable kingdom, even as our blessed Lord did 
himself in addressing Andrew and Philip, The 
hour, said he, is come that the Son of man should 
be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except 
a corn of tvheat fall into the ground and die, it 
abideth alone : but if it die, it bringeth forth much 
fruit. (John xii. 23, 24.) Clearly implying that 
as corruption in the vegetable kingdom, which is 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 



343 



equivalent to death in the animal kingdom, is 
essential to fructification, so death and suffering in 
Jesus must necessarily precede his glory. Or 
again, as St. Paul reasons in 1 Cor. xv. 36, 37, 38, 
after stating that Christ is the first fruits, he 
continues his argument by asserting, That which 
thou soicest is not quickened, except it die : And 
that which thou soicest, thou soicest not that body 
that shall he, but bare grain, it may chance of 
toheat, or of some other gram : But God gvceth 
it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed 
his own body. This implying very nearly the same 
truth as that which is imbodied in Heb. ii. 10, 
For it became him for whom are all things, and by 
whom are all things in bringing many sons unto 
glory to make the Captain of their saltation perfect 
through sufferings. 

It will, however, be more useful, very briefly 
to set before you a few of the types of our blessed 
Saviour. Amongst them I may mention ISAAC. 
Who can fail to see that in his painful three days' 
journey to the land of Moriah (Gen. xxii.), he was 
an eminent instance of the saint commencing with 
trial and ending in triumph ? Look again at 
JOSEPH, and see that pious youth hated of his 
brethren ; sold into Egypt ; falsely accused ; un- 
justly imprisoned ; subsequently raised to the 
highest rank in the state, and to be the deliverer 



844 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



of his brethren. Turn to the history of MOSES, 
and see the little infant, cradled in the bulrushes, 
a stranger in the land of Midian, suffering afflic- 
tion with the people of God. Mark his onward 
career as the lawgiver to Israel, and the chosen 
mediator of the people of God. Behold DAVID, 
too, hunted about by Saul, as the partridge in the 
mountains ; and yet the anointed one of God, the 
man after God's own heart, to whom the Lord was 
specially pleased to reveal that he had put away his 
sin, and chosen him as the progenitor of Jesus. 

Thus we see that as in the types of the Lord 
Jesus they passed through suffering to glory, so 
we have no reason to deny, and every reason for 
maintaining, that there is a perfect harmony be- 
tween the cross and the kingdom of the antitype, 
even the Lord Jesus Christ himself. 

I may pass on, then, to the offices of Christ, and 
from ANALOGY again infer the harmony between 
the cross and the kingdom. No believer denies that 
the offices of our blessed Saviour are threefold. 
He is to his people Prophet, Priest, and King, 
A prophet to teach, a priest to atone, a king to 
rule. When our blessed Lord was first mani- 
fested in the flesh, and commenced his ministry here 
on earth, he took the office of PROPHET. He 
declared that the Scripture was now fulfilled which 
spake of the Spirit of the Lord having anointed 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 345 

him to preach the Gospel, and (Mark i. 14,) we 
read that Jesus came into Galilee preaching the 
Gospel of the kingdom of God. This work, then, 
for the space of more than three years, was carried 
on by this Divine Prophet or Teacher in a personal 
form, and in the sight of men. No one who 
admits that Jesns is come in the flesh attempts to 
deny this fact. I pass on, then, to the second 
office, that of PRIEST. Every High Priest, says 
St. Paul, (Heb. viii. 3,) is ordained to offer gifts and 
sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man 
have someichat also to offer. Toward the close of our 
Lord's continuing upon earth, we find that an offer- 
ing was made, He gaze himself an offering and a 
sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. (Eph. 
v. 2.) As without blood there was no remission, so the 
precious blood of Jesus was shed for the sins of 
the whole world. His body was committed to the 
grave; his soul descended into Hades; on the 
third day he rose again, according to the Scrip- 
tures ; and shortly after ascended up on high. The 
sacrifice had been slain, but, as under the old dis- 
pensation, the high priest entered into the second 
tabernacle, not without blood, which he offered for 
himself and for the errors of the people : The Holy 
Ghost this signifying, that the icay into the holiest 
of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first 
tabernacle teas yet standing. But Christ being 

Q3 



346 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



come an High Priest of good things to come, by a 
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with 
hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by 
the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, 
he entered in once into the holy place, having 
obtained eternal redemption for us. In other words, 
our great High Priest ascended into heaven, there 
personally to present himself before his Father; 
there personally to intercede for us; there per- 
sonally to be a remembrancer to his God and our 
God, of the greatness of the sacrifice and fulness 
of the atonement made for man. You will remark, 
then, that as far as the prophetical and priestly 
office of Christ are concerned, they were carried on 
separately and consecutively ; i.e., they were not 
exercised cotemporaneously, but first the one and 
then the other ; and furthermore, that they were 
exercised by our Lord in his human nature. It is 
fair, then, to argue from this, that whatever weight 
we may give to a spiritual dominion in the heart of 
the believer, yet that when we speak of the king- 
dom of Christ, we have a right to infer that the 
third office of our Lord will be discharged perso- 
nally, separately, consecutively. In other words, 
that the sufferings of Jesus, so far from being a 
hindrance to this triumph, only contribute to the 
unity of that career which began with the cross, 
and will end with the crown. 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 



347 



I have only further to remind you upon this 
point, that this kingdom is future. Christ has not 
reigned as yet. Hitherto Satan has been the 
prince of this world ; if it were not so, our Lord 
would not have enjoined us to seek first his kingdom, 
and daily to pray that his kingdom may come. For 
bear in mind, the Lord's prayer is not the prayer 
of an unconverted man, but the prayer of a man 
who is a child of God, and who has received the spirit 
of adoption, ivhereby lie may cry, Abba, Father. 
This prayer will no longer be required when the 
time shall have arrived for the sounding of the 
seventh angel, and there shall be great voices in 
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are 
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, 
and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. xi. 15.) 

III. Let me now direct your attention to the 
express assertions upon this subject from the Word 
of God. I have dwelt hitherto upon the reason- 
ableness of the subject before me, as well as its 
probability, from the analogy of Scripture. I have 
done so in order that none may attempt to explain 
away the inspired Word upon that Infidel prin- 
ciple which denies Scripture upon the plea of its 
doctrines being unreasonable. Not, however, that 
this mode of arguing is necessary, for the first great 
question with every humble-minded Christian 
ought to be, What saith the Scripture ? and his 



348 



THE HATtMONY BETWEEN 



reply to every Infidel doubt ought to be, Let God 
be true and every man a liar. I need not say, that 
Scripture teems with allusions to the kingdom ; 
seeing that St. Peter (1 Peter i. 11), tells us that 
the prophets searched diligently what, or ivhat 
manner of time the Spirit of Christ which teas in 
them did signify, when it testified beforehand the 
sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
And our Lord himself inquires in the language of 
our text, ought not Christ to haze suffered these 
things, and to have entered into his glory ? I may, 
then, first refer you to that well-known prophecy 
in Isaiah ix. For unto us a child is bom, unto us a 
son is given. This is fulfilled; but mark the 
sequence. And the government shall be upon his 
shoulder ; and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting 
Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of 
his government and peace there shall be no end, upon 
the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order 
it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, 
from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the 
Lord of Hosts will perform this. Now, I confess, 
I cannot understand that system of interpretation 
which woidd insist upon Isaiah's prophecy being 
interpreted literally, when he says, Behold a virgin 
shall conceive and bear a son> and shall call 
his name Immanuel ; and would refuse to under- 



THE CROSS AXD THE KINGDOM!. 349 



stand his prophecy literally when he speaks of 
this child being upon the throne of David, and 
would pronounce such an interpretation derogatory 
to the honour of God and his Christ. 

Turn again to Phil. ii. 7, 8, 9, and you will find 
the apostle closely connects with his reign — indeed, 
even makes his reign a consequence of — the suffer- 
ings of Jesus. For he says, He humbled himself, 
and became obedient unto death, even the death of 
the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted 
him, and given him a name which is above every 
?iame, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
boiv, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and 
things under the earth y and that every tongue should 
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of 
God the Father. And compare with this, Psalm 
ex. 7. He shall drink of the brook in the icay, 
therefore shall he lift up the head, and you have 
again the same truth, the same connexion of suf- 
fering and triumph, and therefore another testimony 
to the Harmony between the Cross and the Kingdom. 

I must now remind you that this doctrine which 
I have thus briefly handled, is no unimportant 
theory. The subject was chosen, not to justify 
idle curiosity but at once to warn the ungodly and 
comfort the believer. To warn those ungodly 
ones who call themselves Christians, and never 
yet knew what it is to carry the cross for their 



350 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



Master's sake ; who comfort themselves with the 
luxuries of this world, gratifying themselves with 
giving away that which they do not want, like 
Dives in the parable, utterly regardless of the 
solemn account they will have to give at the Lord's 
Advent ; and who venture to think that they may 
have the good opinion of all their fellow-men, and 
yet be disciples of Christ. Again, I say, Let God 
be true and every man a liar. The Word of God 
declares Friendship with the world is enmity with 
God. (James iv. 4.) Through much tribidation we 
must enter into the kingdom of God. (Acts xiv. 22.) 
If, therefore, you have the good word of all 
men, you will do well to doubt whether you have 
the praise of God. It is better to think that you 
yourselves may be in the wrong, rather than that 
God's word is untrue. 

But it is intended to comfort you who are brought 
into trial, and who, for the cause of our common 
Master, have either suffered from the violence of 
the persecutor or the malevolence of the scoffer. 
Christ is himself the type of his people. Was 
he to suffer and then to reign ? So are you. If 
we suffer, we shall also reign toith him. (2 Tim. 
ii. 12.) Yes, my brethen, it is easy for the pre- 
judiced formalist to deny the proposition before us ; 
it is easy for the thoughtless scoffer to shake his 
head and say, these things are not so ; it is easy 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 



351 



for the careless worldling to ask, what matter is it 
if these things be so ? They will not happen in 
my day. How knowest thou that they will not 
happen in thy day, thou self-satisfied dogmatiser ? 
Did the Lord mean to assure thee they should not 
happen in thy day, when he said, In such an hour 
as ye think not the Son of man cometh ? (Matt, 
xxiy. 44.) You are ready, perhaps too ready, to 
condemn any preacher or writer who may boldly 
state his own conviction that the return of the 
Lord will be in our time. But if that be pre- 
sumption, what, I would ask, is that assumption 
of foreknowledge which would allow you to assert 
that this icill not, cannot, be in our generation ? 
I am not surprised, indeed, at this boldness (shall 
I call it by no harsher term ?) when I see the 
anxiety with which men join house to house and 
lay field to field ; whose inward thought is that 
their houses shall continue for ever, and their 
dwelling places to all generations, calling their lands 
after their oivn names. (Ps. xlix. 11.) If the 
former misinterprets Scripture, and I am far from 
saying that may not be the case — -YOU deny it. 
The one may be an error of the head, but yours is 
the sin of the heart. 

You will use your own discretion (and God 
give you the spirit of wisdom and of a sound 
mind !) as to the way in which you may receive 
this topic, but I am bound to tell you that 



352 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



upon the truth or error of these statements 
depends the correctness of your views as to the 
nature of the kingdom Believers will inherit. Paul 
says ice shall reign with Christ. In Rev. v. 10, we 
read, we shall reign on the earth. It must follow, 
then, that Christ will reign on the earth. Let, 
then, each Believing brother comfort himself with 
the assurance that when Christ, who is our life, 
shall appear, then shall ice also appear with him in 
glory. (Col. iii. 4.) 

Be of good cheer, then, all of you who know 
what it is to sorrow for the loss of those near 
and dear to you. The sufferings of this pre- 
sent time are not worthy to be compared with 
the glory hereafter to be revealed in you. In the 
kingdom there shall be no sorrow. In the 
kingdom there shall be no sin, no sorrow, no 
sickness. In the kingdom you shall experience 
that, though here you have been amongst that 
sect which is everywhere spoken against. (Acts 
xxviii. 22.) Yet there you will be amongst that 
blessed multitude ichich no man can number, 
of all nations , and kindred, and people, and tongues, 
who shall stand before the throne, and before the 
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their 
hands, and cry icith a loud voice, saying, Salvation 
to our God ichich sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb. (Rev. vii. 9, 10.) 
But as to such of you as are mere prof essors of reli- 



THE CEOSS AND THE KINGDOM. 



353 



gion, well may we tremble for you on that great day 
of discrimination. On that day when he shall appear 
who is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the 
greatness of his strength, mighty to save, He will 
indeed be a Saviour to his people,, but will tread 
dozen his enemies in His anger, and trample them 
in his fury. For the day of vengeance is in his 
heart, though the year of the Redeemed may be come. 
(Is. lxiii.) The year of the Redeemed come ! ! Yes, 
the establishment of the kingdom, for the coming of 
which you so often profess to pray. Pray for it you 
cannot — pray for it you dare not. If only pro- 
fessors, that day will witness the veil torn from 
your hypocritical hearts, and hear you commanded 
to depart as unknown, and yet too well known, 
unto the place appointed for the devil and his 
angels ! Then will unconverted men, who have 
again and again been warned that they must be 
born again, who have smiled as they have been 
reminded in the language of our Lord, Marvel not 
that I say anto you, ye must be born again. 
(J ohn iii.) Then, I repeat, will unconverted men 
understand that Except a man be bom again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God. (John iii. 3.) Then 
will the unregenerate comprehend those words 
which they have heard aforetime and not under- 
stood, read and not applied, Tliose mine enemies 
which would not that I should reign over them, 



354 



THE HARMONY BETWEEN 



bring hither and slay them before me, (Luke 
xix. 27,) while you, my brethren, who, by 
grace, have been changed in heart and con- 
verted to God, shall hear the King of kings 
saying to yon, Come ye blessed of my Father, 
receive the kingdom prepared for you from the 
beginning of the world. Hearken then, brethren, 
to these two distinct and different sentences. Lay 
them up in your hearts. Look well to their 
meaning, you who are rich and prosperous, lest 
in this world only yon have your reward. Be 
comforted you that are poor, knowing that God has 
chosen thenar in this world, rich in faith, heirs of 
the Kingdom. 

It is delightful, dear brethren in the Lord, to re- 
flect upon the blessings which are in store for us 
in that day. Then shall we be reunited to those 
near and dear to us, from whom death may have 
caused a temporary separation, but who, having 
fallen asleep in Jesus, shall then be summoned to 
be for ever with our common Lord. Then shall 
we be no longer harassed by any of those un- 
necessary causes of religious differences which 
abound in the present day. Then shall it be un- 
necessary to try the spirits, whether they be of 
God, for we shall be safely kept by the great 
Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. No longer 
shall we complain of wandering thoughts, coldness 



THE CROSS AND THE KINGDOM. 



355 



of love, weakness of faith; difficulty in prayer^ and 
inability to praise, for there, with the heavenly 
choir, shall we be enabled continually to sing, 
Blessing and honour, and glory, and power he unto 
Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb 
for ever and ever. Keep looking for the appearing 
of the Lord, and think it not strange concerning the 
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some 
strange thing happened unto you, hut rejoice inas- 
much as ye are partakers of Chrisfs sufferings, 
that when his glory shall he revealed, ye may he 
glad also with exceeding joy . (1 Pet. iv. 12.) 

But I must draw to a conclusion. Christian 
Brethren, the hearing of these Sermons cannot be 
a matter of indifference. They have been delivered 
by a number of Ministers, not for self-display, not 
because it is usual to give you additional oppor- 
tunities of attending Divine worship during the 
season of Lent, not to gratify your curiosity in 
hearing a variety of preachers, but because the 
subject is one of the highest interest and import- 
ance to your eternal welfare. I repeat, then, you 
cannot have heard this course of lectures without 
incurring great responsibility. The subject cannot 
be lightly thrown aside. It is not, then, what you 
may think, or what I may think. It is not whether 
death in your opinion may be a stronger motive, or 
even whether death be as strong a motive to watch- 



356 THE HARMONY BETWEEN, &C. 

fulness and holiness of life, as the doctrine of the 
Second Advent. But what saith the Scripture ? 
I confess I know not how to measure the humility 
of that critic who will venture practically to assert 
that he knows better than the great Inspirer of the 
apostles, what will, and what will not, awaken the 
Sinner. You may say, there is time enough yet 
for change, that the Lord delayeth his coming ; but 
the warnings, the scriptural warnings, which you 
have heard in this course, will rise up and con- 
demn you. Oh, let not this be the sad termination 
to your earthly career, for tee shall not all sleep, 
hut we shall all he changed. We must all stand 
before the judgment seat of Christ. 

Study, then, the sure word of prophecy more care- 
fully! Compare spiritual things with spiritual. Pray 
for the oil of Divine grace more fervently ! Wait 
for the return of your Lord with more watchful- 
ness and anxiety ! You may stand comparatively 
alone ; the ungodly may rage ; scoffers may rail ; 
but there is an appointed time when he that shall 
come will come, and ivill not tarry. God give you 
grace to prepare to meet him ! 



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The SECOND COMING ; The JUDGMENT ; and the 

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